Flexible scheduling in new radio (NR) networks

ABSTRACT

Aspects of the present disclosure provide a mechanism for flexible scheduling of grants for downlink or uplink transmissions. In some examples, a grant may be scheduled using multiple control signals, where subsequent control signals may modify one or more properties of the grant. For example, the grant may be modified to add a packet to the grant for transmission on a different set of time-frequency resources or a different set of multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) layers, modify a time-frequency resource allocation of the grant, modify the waveform utilized for the grant, modify the transmit-diversity scheme utilized for the grant, or indicate specific processing for the packet.

PRIORITY CLAIM

The present Application for Patent is a Continuation of Non-Provisionalapplication Ser. No. 15/961,446 filed in the U.S. Patent and TrademarkOffice on Apr. 24, 2018, the entire content of which is incorporatedherein by reference as if fully set forth below in its entirety and forall applicable purposes. Non-Provisional application Ser. No. 15/961,446claims priority to and the benefit of Provisional Patent Application No.62/489,981 filed in the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office on Apr. 25,2017, the entire content of which is incorporated herein by reference asif fully set forth below in its entirety and for all applicablepurposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The technology discussed below relates generally to wirelesscommunication systems, and more particularly, to scheduling of downlinkand uplink transmissions in wireless communication systems.

INTRODUCTION

Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide variouscommunication services such as telephony, video, data, messaging,broadcasts, and so on. Such networks, which are usually multiple accessnetworks, support communications for multiple users by sharing theavailable network resources.

Legacy (e.g., 4G) wireless communication networks, such as the Long TermEvolution (LTE) network, may allow multiple packets to be transmitted tothe same user equipment (UE) on different time-frequency resourceswithin the same subframe. However, there are scheduling restrictions onthe types of transmissions allowed for the same UE when differenttime-frequency resources are being utilized within the same subframe. Inparticular, a UE may not receive multiple unicast transmissions (e.g.,transmissions from a base station to a single UE) on differenttime-frequency resources within the same subframe.

In general, once a base station reserves downlink time-frequencyresources within a subframe for the transmission of a packet to one ormore UEs, the base station generates a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH) containing downlink control information (DCI) indicating thereserved resources for the packet and scrambles the DCI with a radionetwork temporary identifier (RNTI) that may be utilized by a UE toidentify DCI containing information pertaining to that UE. To reduce theamount of decoding performed by the UE on the DCI, only one PDCCH/DCImay be scrambled with a UE-specific RNTI (e.g., Cell-RNTI or C-RNTI) forthe UE within a subframe. Other packets that may be transmitted ondifferent time-frequency resources within the same subframe may be, forexample, broadcast packets (e.g., packets transmitted from the basestation to multiple UEs). The DCI generated for a broadcast packet maybe scrambled, for example, with a system RNTI (e.g., a SystemInformation RNTI or SI-RNTI).

LTE networks further support the transmission of multiple packets to thesame UE on the same time-frequency resources during the same subframe.However, the packets are spatially separated from one another utilizinga multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) approach. In this example, eachpacket may be assigned the same hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ)process identifier (ID) to provide for acknowledgement of the packets.Each HARQ process ID identifies a respective stop and wait (SAW)parallel process running on the base station and the UE. In addition,the downlink assignments for both packets are included in the samePDCCH, and the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS) is utilized forboth packets.

For next generation (e.g., 5G) networks, such as the New Radio network,additional flexibility in scheduling of packets for a UE may be neededto meet the stringent data speed and latency requirements.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLES

The following presents a summary of one or more aspects of the presentdisclosure, in order to provide a basic understanding of such aspects.This summary is not an extensive overview of all contemplated featuresof the disclosure, and is intended neither to identify key or criticalelements of all aspects of the disclosure nor to delineate the scope ofany or all aspects of the disclosure. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts of one or more aspects of the disclosure as a prelude tothe more detailed description that is presented later.

Various aspects of the disclosure relate to mechanisms for flexiblescheduling of grants (e.g., downlink assignments or uplink grants) foruser equipment (UEs). A base station may schedule a grant for a packetfor a UE and transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH) includingfirst control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grant for thepacket to the UE. The base station may then modify at least one propertyof the grant to produce grant modification information. For example, thebase station may add a packet to the grant for transmission on adifferent set of time-frequency resources or a different set of MIMOlayers, modify a time-frequency resource allocation of the grant, modifythe waveform utilized for the grant, modify the transmit-diversityscheme utilized for the grant, or indicate specific processing for thepacket. The base station may then transmit a second control channelincluding second control information that includes at least the grantmodification information to the UE.

In some examples, the second control channel may be transmitted withinthe same slot as the first control channel, within a subsequent slot asthe first control channel, or subsequent to transmission of the packet.In examples in which the grant modification information adds a packet tobe transmitted within the same slot on a different set of MIMO layers,the same or different hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) processidentifiers (IDs) may be assigned to each of the packets.

In one aspect of the disclosure, a method for a scheduled entity tocommunicate with a scheduling entity in a wireless communication networkis disclosed. The method includes receiving a first control channelincluding first control information from the scheduling entity. Thefirst control information includes a grant including a downlinkassignment or an uplink grant for a first packet. The method furtherincludes receiving a second control channel including second controlinformation from the scheduling entity. The second control informationincludes at least grant modification information and is separate fromthe first control information. The grant modification informationmodifies at least one property of a plurality of properties of thegrant. The grant modification information adds a second packet to thegrant. The first packet is scheduled on a first set of resource elementswithin a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a second set ofresource elements within the slot.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a scheduled entity in awireless communication network. The scheduled entity includes aprocessor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the processor, and amemory communicatively coupled to the processor. The processor and thememory are configured to receive a first control channel including firstcontrol information from a scheduling entity. The first controlinformation includes a grant including a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet. The processor and the memory arefurther configured to receive a second control channel including secondcontrol information from the scheduling entity. The second controlinformation includes at least grant modification information and isseparate from the first control information. The grant modificationinformation modifies at least one property of a plurality of propertiesof the grant. The grant modification information adds a second packet tothe grant. The first packet is scheduled on a first set of resourceelements within a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a secondset of resource elements within the slot.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a scheduled entity in awireless communication network. The scheduled entity includes means forreceiving a first control channel including first control informationfrom the scheduling entity. The first control information includes agrant including a downlink assignment or an uplink grant for a firstpacket. The scheduled entity further includes means for receiving asecond control channel including second control information from thescheduling entity. The second control information includes at leastgrant modification information and is separate from the first controlinformation. The grant modification information modifies at least oneproperty of a plurality of properties of the grant. The grantmodification information adds a second packet to the grant. The firstpacket is scheduled on a first set of resource elements within a slotand the second packet is scheduled on a second set of resource elementswithin the slot.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides an article of manufacture foruse by a scheduled entity in a wireless communication network. Thearticle includes a non-transitory computer-readable medium having storedtherein instructions executable by one or more processors of thescheduled entity to receive a first control channel including firstcontrol information from a scheduling entity. The first controlinformation includes a grant including a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet. The computer-readable medium furtherhas stored therein instructions executable by the one or more processorsof the scheduled entity to receive a second control channel includingsecond control information from the scheduling entity. The secondcontrol information includes at least grant modification information andis separate from the first control information. The grant modificationinformation modifies at least one property of a plurality of propertiesof the grant. The grant modification information adds a second packet tothe grant. The first packet is scheduled on a first set of resourceelements within a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a secondset of resource elements within the slot.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides method for a scheduled entityto communicate with a scheduling entity in a wireless communicationnetwork. The method includes receiving a first control channel includingfirst control information from the scheduling entity. The first controlinformation includes a grant including a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet. The method further includes receiving asecond control channel including second control information from thescheduling entity. The second control information includes at leastgrant modification information and is separate from the first controlinformation. The grant modification information modifies at least oneproperty of a plurality of properties of the grant. The first controlinformation further includes a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant. Therespective modification indication of each of the plurality ofproperties indicates whether the respective property is furthermodifiable.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a scheduled entity in awireless communication network. The scheduled entity includes aprocessor, a transceiver communicatively coupled to the processor, and amemory communicatively coupled to the processor. The processor and thememory are configured to receive a first control channel including firstcontrol information from the scheduling entity. The first controlinformation includes a grant including a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet. The processor and the memory arefurther configured to receive a second control channel including secondcontrol information from the scheduling entity. The second controlinformation includes at least grant modification information and isseparate from the first control information. The grant modificationinformation modifies at least one property of a plurality of propertiesof the grant. The first control information further includes arespective modification indication for each property of the plurality ofproperties of the grant. The respective modification indication of eachof the plurality of properties indicates whether the respective propertyis further modifiable.

Another aspect of the disclosure provides a scheduled entity in awireless communication network. The scheduled entity includes means forreceiving a first control channel including first control informationfrom the scheduling entity. The first control information includes agrant including a downlink assignment or an uplink grant for a firstpacket. The scheduled entity further includes means for receiving asecond control channel including second control information from thescheduling entity. The second control information includes at leastgrant modification information and is separate from the first controlinformation. The grant modification information modifies at least oneproperty of a plurality of properties of the grant. The first controlinformation further includes a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant. Therespective modification indication of each of the plurality ofproperties indicates whether the respective property is furthermodifiable.

Another aspect of the disclosure further provides an article ofmanufacture for use by a scheduled entity in a wireless communicationnetwork. The article includes a non-transitory computer-readable mediumhaving stored therein instructions executable by one or more processorsof the scheduled entity to receive a first control channel includingfirst control information from the scheduling entity. The first controlinformation includes a grant including a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet. The computer-readable medium furtherhas stored therein instructions executable by the one or more processorsof the scheduled entity to receive a second control channel includingsecond control information from the scheduling entity. The secondcontrol information includes at least grant modification information andis separate from the first control information. The grant modificationinformation modifies at least one property of a plurality of propertiesof the grant. The first control information further includes arespective modification indication for each property of the plurality ofproperties of the grant. The respective modification indication of eachof the plurality of properties indicates whether the respective propertyis further modifiable.

These and other aspects of the invention will become more fullyunderstood upon a review of the detailed description, which follows.Other aspects, features, and embodiments of the present invention willbecome apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art, upon reviewingthe following description of specific, exemplary embodiments of thepresent invention in conjunction with the accompanying figures. Whilefeatures of the present invention may be discussed relative to certainembodiments and figures below, all embodiments of the present inventioncan include one or more of the advantageous features discussed herein.In other words, while one or more embodiments may be discussed as havingcertain advantageous features, one or more of such features may also beused in accordance with the various embodiments of the inventiondiscussed herein. In similar fashion, while exemplary embodiments may bediscussed below as device, system, or method embodiments it should beunderstood that such exemplary embodiments can be implemented in variousdevices, systems, and methods.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic illustration of a wireless communication system.

FIG. 2 is a conceptual illustration of an example of a radio accessnetwork.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a frame structure for usein a radio access network.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink (DL)-centricslot.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating an example of an uplink (UL)-centricslot.

FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a wireless communicationsystem supporting Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) technology.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduling entity employing a processing systemaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for a scheduled entity employing a processing systemaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of scheduling a grant for at least onepacket transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of scheduling of a grant for atleast one packet within a single control channel utilizing multiplecontrol information according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of scheduling multiple packets fortransmission in a slot utilizing different MIMO layers according to someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 15 illustrates another example of scheduling multiple packets fortransmission in a slot utilizing different MIMO layers according to someaspects of the disclosure.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of downlink control information includinga grant having modifiable grant properties according to some aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process for schedulinga grant utilizing multiple control signals according to some aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating another exemplary process forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals according to someaspects of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The detailed description set forth below in connection with the appendeddrawings is intended as a description of various configurations and isnot intended to represent the only configurations in which the conceptsdescribed herein may be practiced. The detailed description includesspecific details for the purpose of providing a thorough understandingof various concepts. However, it will be apparent to those skilled inthe art that these concepts may be practiced without these specificdetails. In some instances, well known structures and components areshown in block diagram form in order to avoid obscuring such concepts.

While aspects and embodiments are described in this application byillustration to some examples, those skilled in the art will understandthat additional implementations and use cases may come about in manydifferent arrangements and scenarios. Innovations described herein maybe implemented across many differing platform types, devices, systems,shapes, sizes, packaging arrangements. For example, embodiments and/oruses may come about via integrated chip embodiments and othernon-module-component based devices (e.g., end-user devices, vehicles,communication devices, computing devices, industrial equipment,retail/purchasing devices, medical devices, AI-enabled devices, etc.).While some examples may or may not be specifically directed to use casesor applications, a wide assortment of applicability of describedinnovations may occur. Implementations may range a spectrum fromchip-level or modular components to non-modular, non-chip-levelimplementations and further to aggregate, distributed, or OEM devices orsystems incorporating one or more aspects of the described innovations.In some practical settings, devices incorporating described aspects andfeatures may also necessarily include additional components and featuresfor implementation and practice of claimed and described embodiments.For example, transmission and reception of wireless signals necessarilyincludes a number of components for analog and digital purposes (e.g.,hardware components including antenna, RF-chains, power amplifiers,modulators, buffer, processor(s), interleaver, adders/summers, etc.). Itis intended that innovations described herein may be practiced in a widevariety of devices, chip-level components, systems, distributedarrangements, end-user devices, etc. of varying sizes, shapes andconstitution.

The various concepts presented throughout this disclosure may beimplemented across a broad variety of telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures, and communication standards. Referring now to FIG. 1, asan illustrative example without limitation, various aspects of thepresent disclosure are illustrated with reference to a wirelesscommunication system 100. The wireless communication system 100 includesthree interacting domains: a core network 102, a radio access network(RAN) 104, and a user equipment (UE) 106. By virtue of the wirelesscommunication system 100, the UE 106 may be enabled to carry out datacommunication with an external data network 110, such as (but notlimited to) the Internet.

The RAN 104 may implement any suitable wireless communication technologyor technologies to provide radio access to the UE 106. As one example,the RAN 104 may operate according to 3rd Generation Partnership Project(3GPP) New Radio (NR) specifications, often referred to as 5G. Asanother example, the RAN 104 may operate under a hybrid of 5G NR andEvolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access Network (eUTRAN) standards,often referred to as LTE. The 3GPP refers to this hybrid RAN as anext-generation RAN, or NG-RAN. Of course, many other examples may beutilized within the scope of the present disclosure.

As illustrated, the RAN 104 includes a plurality of base stations 108.Broadly, a base station is a network element in a radio access networkresponsible for radio transmission and reception in one or more cells toor from a UE. In different technologies, standards, or contexts, a basestation may variously be referred to by those skilled in the art as abase transceiver station (BTS), a radio base station, a radiotransceiver, a transceiver function, a basic service set (BSS), anextended service set (ESS), an access point (AP), a Node B (NB), aneNode B (eNB), a gNode B (gNB), or some other suitable terminology.

The radio access network 104 is further illustrated supporting wirelesscommunication for multiple mobile apparatuses. A mobile apparatus may bereferred to as user equipment (UE) in 3GPP standards, but may also bereferred to by those skilled in the art as a mobile station (MS), asubscriber station, a mobile unit, a subscriber unit, a wireless unit, aremote unit, a mobile device, a wireless device, a wirelesscommunications device, a remote device, a mobile subscriber station, anaccess terminal (AT), a mobile terminal, a wireless terminal, a remoteterminal, a handset, a terminal, a user agent, a mobile client, aclient, or some other suitable terminology. A UE may be an apparatusthat provides a user with access to network services.

Within the present document, a “mobile” apparatus need not necessarilyhave a capability to move, and may be stationary. The term mobileapparatus or mobile device broadly refers to a diverse array of devicesand technologies. UEs may include a number of hardware structuralcomponents sized, shaped, and arranged to help in communication; suchcomponents can include antennas, antenna arrays, RF chains, amplifiers,one or more processors, etc. electrically coupled to each other. Forexample, some non-limiting examples of a mobile apparatus include amobile, a cellular (cell) phone, a smart phone, a session initiationprotocol (SIP) phone, a laptop, a personal computer (PC), a notebook, anetbook, a smartbook, a tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA), anda broad array of embedded systems, e.g., corresponding to an “Internetof Things” (IoT). A mobile apparatus may additionally be an automotiveor other transportation vehicle, a remote sensor or actuator, a robot orrobotics device, a satellite radio, a global positioning system (GPS)device, an object tracking device, a drone, a multi-copter, aquad-copter, a remote control device, a consumer and/or wearable device,such as eyewear, a wearable camera, a virtual reality device, a smartwatch, a health or fitness tracker, a digital audio player (e.g., MP3player), a camera, a game console, etc. A mobile apparatus mayadditionally be a digital home or smart home device such as a homeaudio, video, and/or multimedia device, an appliance, a vending machine,intelligent lighting, a home security system, a smart meter, etc. Amobile apparatus may additionally be a smart energy device, a securitydevice, a solar panel or solar array, a municipal infrastructure devicecontrolling electric power (e.g., a smart grid), lighting, water, etc.;an industrial automation and enterprise device; a logistics controller;agricultural equipment; military defense equipment, vehicles, aircraft,ships, and weaponry, etc. Still further, a mobile apparatus may providefor connected medicine or telemedicine support, i.e., health care at adistance. Telehealth devices may include telehealth monitoring devicesand telehealth administration devices, whose communication may be givenpreferential treatment or prioritized access over other types ofinformation, e.g., in terms of prioritized access for transport ofcritical service data, and/or relevant QoS for transport of criticalservice data.

Wireless communication between a RAN 104 and a UE 106 may be describedas utilizing an air interface. Transmissions over the air interface froma base station (e.g., base station 108) to one or more UEs (e.g., UE106) may be referred to as downlink (DL) transmission. In accordancewith certain aspects of the present disclosure, the term downlink mayrefer to a point-to-multipoint transmission originating at a schedulingentity (described further below; e.g., base station 108). Another way todescribe this scheme may be to use the term broadcast channelmultiplexing. Transmissions from a UE (e.g., UE 106) to a base station(e.g., base station 108) may be referred to as uplink (UL)transmissions. In accordance with further aspects of the presentdisclosure, the term uplink may refer to a point-to-point transmissionoriginating at a scheduled entity (described further below; e.g., UE106).

In some examples, access to the air interface may be scheduled, whereina scheduling entity (e.g., a base station 108) allocates resources forcommunication among some or all devices and equipment within its servicearea or cell. Within the present disclosure, as discussed further below,the scheduling entity may be responsible for scheduling, assigning,reconfiguring, and releasing resources for one or more scheduledentities. That is, for scheduled communication, UEs 106, which may bescheduled entities, may utilize resources allocated by the schedulingentity 108.

Base stations 108 are not the only entities that may function asscheduling entities. That is, in some examples, a UE may function as ascheduling entity, scheduling resources for one or more scheduledentities (e.g., one or more other UEs).

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a scheduling entity 108 may broadcast downlinktraffic 112 to one or more scheduled entities 106. Broadly, thescheduling entity 108 is a node or device responsible for schedulingtraffic in a wireless communication network, including the downlinktraffic 112 and, in some examples, uplink traffic 116 from one or morescheduled entities 106 to the scheduling entity 108. On the other hand,the scheduled entity 106 is a node or device that receives downlinkcontrol information 114, including but not limited to schedulinginformation (e.g., a grant), synchronization or timing information, orother control information from another entity in the wirelesscommunication network such as the scheduling entity 108.

In addition, the uplink and/or downlink control information and/ortraffic information may be time-divided into frames, subframes, slots,and/or symbols. As used herein, a symbol may refer to a unit of timethat, in an orthogonal frequency division multiplexed (OFDM) waveform,carries one resource element (RE) per sub-carrier. A slot may carry 7 or14 OFDM symbols. A subframe may refer to a duration of 1 ms. Multiplesubframes or slots may be grouped together to form a single frame orradio frame. Of course, these definitions are not required, and anysuitable scheme for organizing waveforms may be utilized, and varioustime divisions of the waveform may have any suitable duration.

In general, base stations 108 may include a backhaul interface forcommunication with a backhaul portion 120 of the wireless communicationsystem. The backhaul 120 may provide a link between a base station 108and the core network 102. Further, in some examples, a backhaul networkmay provide interconnection between the respective base stations 108.Various types of backhaul interfaces may be employed, such as a directphysical connection, a virtual network, or the like using any suitabletransport network.

The core network 102 may be a part of the wireless communication system100, and may be independent of the radio access technology used in theRAN 104. In some examples, the core network 102 may be configuredaccording to 5G standards (e.g., 5GC). In other examples, the corenetwork 102 may be configured according to a 4G evolved packet core(EPC), or any other suitable standard or configuration.

Referring now to FIG. 2, by way of example and without limitation, aschematic illustration of a RAN 200 is provided. In some examples, theRAN 200 may be the same as the RAN 104 described above and illustratedin FIG. 1. The geographic area covered by the RAN 200 may be dividedinto cellular regions (cells) that can be uniquely identified by a userequipment (UE) based on an identification broadcasted from one accesspoint or base station. FIG. 2 illustrates macrocells 202, 204, and 206,and a small cell 208, each of which may include one or more sectors (notshown). A sector is a sub-area of a cell. All sectors within one cellare served by the same base station. A radio link within a sector can beidentified by a single logical identification belonging to that sector.In a cell that is divided into sectors, the multiple sectors within acell can be formed by groups of antennas with each antenna responsiblefor communication with UEs in a portion of the cell.

In FIG. 2, two base stations 210 and 212 are shown in cells 202 and 204;and a third base station 214 is shown controlling a remote radio head(RRH) 216 in cell 206. That is, a base station can have an integratedantenna or can be connected to an antenna or RRH by feeder cables. Inthe illustrated example, the cells 202, 204, and 126 may be referred toas macrocells, as the base stations 210, 212, and 214 support cellshaving a large size. Further, a base station 218 is shown in the smallcell 208 (e.g., a microcell, picocell, femtocell, home base station,home Node B, home eNode B, etc.) which may overlap with one or moremacrocells. In this example, the cell 208 may be referred to as a smallcell, as the base station 218 supports a cell having a relatively smallsize. Cell sizing can be done according to system design as well ascomponent constraints.

It is to be understood that the radio access network 200 may include anynumber of wireless base stations and cells. Further, a relay node may bedeployed to extend the size or coverage area of a given cell. The basestations 210, 212, 214, 218 provide wireless access points to a corenetwork for any number of mobile apparatuses. In some examples, the basestations 210, 212, 214, and/or 218 may be the same as the basestation/scheduling entity 108 described above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

Within the RAN 200, the cells may include UEs that may be incommunication with one or more sectors of each cell. Further, each basestation 210, 212, 214, and 218 may be configured to provide an accesspoint to a core network 102 (see FIG. 1) for all the UEs in therespective cells. For example, UEs 222 and 224 may be in communicationwith base station 210; UEs 226 and 228 may be in communication with basestation 212; UEs 230 and 232 may be in communication with base station214 by way of RRH 216; and UE 234 may be in communication with basestation 218. In some examples, the UEs 222, 224, 226, 228, 230, 232,234, 238, 240, and/or 242 may be the same as the UE/scheduled entity 106described above and illustrated in FIG. 1.

In some examples, an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) 220, which may be adrone or quadcopter, can be a mobile network node and may be configuredto function as a UE. For example, the UAV 220 may operate within cell202 by communicating with base station 210.

In a further aspect of the RAN 200, sidelink signals may be used betweenUEs without necessarily relying on scheduling or control informationfrom a base station. For example, two or more UEs (e.g., UEs 226 and228) may communicate with each other using peer to peer (P2P) orsidelink signals 227 without relaying that communication through a basestation (e.g., base station 212). In a further example, UE 238 isillustrated communicating with UEs 240 and 242. Here, the UE 238 mayfunction as a scheduling entity or a primary sidelink device, and UEs240 and 242 may function as a scheduled entity or a non-primary (e.g.,secondary) sidelink device. In still another example, a UE may functionas a scheduling entity in a device-to-device (D2D), peer-to-peer (P2P),or vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) network, and/or in a mesh network. In a meshnetwork example, UEs 240 and 242 may optionally communicate directlywith one another in addition to communicating with the scheduling entity238. Thus, in a wireless communication system with scheduled access totime-frequency resources and having a cellular configuration, a P2Pconfiguration, or a mesh configuration, a scheduling entity and one ormore scheduled entities may communicate utilizing the scheduledresources. In some examples, the sidelink signals 227 include sidelinktraffic and sidelink control. Sidelink control information may in someexamples include a request signal, such as a request-to-send (RTS), asource transmit signal (STS), and/or a direction selection signal (DSS).The request signal may provide for a scheduled entity to request aduration of time to keep a sidelink channel available for a sidelinksignal. Sidelink control information may further include a responsesignal, such as a clear-to-send (CTS) and/or a destination receivesignal (DRS). The response signal may provide for the scheduled entityto indicate the availability of the sidelink channel, e.g., for arequested duration of time. An exchange of request and response signals(e.g., handshake) may enable different scheduled entities performingsidelink communications to negotiate the availability of the sidelinkchannel prior to communication of the sidelink traffic information.

In the radio access network 200, the ability for a UE to communicatewhile moving, independent of its location, is referred to as mobility.The various physical channels between the UE and the radio accessnetwork are generally set up, maintained, and released under the controlof an access and mobility management function (AMF, not illustrated,part of the core network 102 in FIG. 1), which may include a securitycontext management function (SCMF) that manages the security context forboth the control plane and the user plane functionality, and a securityanchor function (SEAF) that performs authentication.

A radio access network 200 may utilize DL-based mobility or UL-basedmobility to enable mobility and handovers (i.e., the transfer of a UE'sconnection from one radio channel to another). In a network configuredfor DL-based mobility, during a call with a scheduling entity, or at anyother time, a UE may monitor various parameters of the signal from itsserving cell as well as various parameters of neighboring cells.Depending on the quality of these parameters, the UE may maintaincommunication with one or more of the neighboring cells. During thistime, if the UE moves from one cell to another, or if signal qualityfrom a neighboring cell exceeds that from the serving cell for a givenamount of time, the UE may undertake a handoff or handover from theserving cell to the neighboring (target) cell. For example, UE 224(illustrated as a vehicle, although any suitable form of UE may be used)may move from the geographic area corresponding to its serving cell 202to the geographic area corresponding to a neighbor cell 206. When thesignal strength or quality from the neighbor cell 206 exceeds that ofits serving cell 202 for a given amount of time, the UE 224 may transmita reporting message to its serving base station 210 indicating thiscondition. In response, the UE 224 may receive a handover command, andthe UE may undergo a handover to the cell 206.

In a network configured for UL-based mobility, UL reference signals fromeach UE may be utilized by the network to select a serving cell for eachUE. In some examples, the base stations 210, 212, and 214/216 maybroadcast unified synchronization signals (e.g., unified PrimarySynchronization Signals (PSSs), unified Secondary SynchronizationSignals (SSSs) and unified Physical Broadcast Channels (PBCH)). The UEs222, 224, 226, 228, 230, and 232 may receive the unified synchronizationsignals, derive the carrier frequency and slot timing from thesynchronization signals, and in response to deriving timing, transmit anuplink pilot or reference signal. The uplink pilot signal transmitted bya UE (e.g., UE 224) may be concurrently received by two or more cells(e.g., base stations 210 and 214/216) within the radio access network200. Each of the cells may measure a strength of the pilot signal, andthe radio access network (e.g., one or more of the base stations 210 and214/216 and/or a central node within the core network) may determine aserving cell for the UE 224. As the UE 224 moves through the radioaccess network 200, the network may continue to monitor the uplink pilotsignal transmitted by the UE 224. When the signal strength or quality ofthe pilot signal measured by a neighboring cell exceeds that of thesignal strength or quality measured by the serving cell, the network 200may handover the UE 224 from the serving cell to the neighboring cell,with or without informing the UE 224.

Although the synchronization signal transmitted by the base stations210, 212, and 214/216 may be unified, the synchronization signal may notidentify a particular cell, but rather may identify a zone of multiplecells operating on the same frequency and/or with the same timing. Theuse of zones in 5G networks or other next generation communicationnetworks enables the uplink-based mobility framework and improves theefficiency of both the UE and the network, since the number of mobilitymessages that need to be exchanged between the UE and the network may bereduced.

In various implementations, the air interface in the radio accessnetwork 200 may utilize licensed spectrum, unlicensed spectrum, orshared spectrum. Licensed spectrum provides for exclusive use of aportion of the spectrum, generally by virtue of a mobile networkoperator purchasing a license from a government regulatory body.Unlicensed spectrum provides for shared use of a portion of the spectrumwithout need for a government-granted license. While compliance withsome technical rules is generally still required to access unlicensedspectrum, generally, any operator or device may gain access. Sharedspectrum may fall between licensed and unlicensed spectrum, whereintechnical rules or limitations may be required to access the spectrum,but the spectrum may still be shared by multiple operators and/ormultiple RATs. For example, the holder of a license for a portion oflicensed spectrum may provide licensed shared access (LSA) to share thatspectrum with other parties, e.g., with suitable licensee-determinedconditions to gain access.

In order for transmissions over the radio access network 200 to obtain alow block error rate (BLER) while still achieving very high data rates,channel coding may be used. That is, wireless communication maygenerally utilize a suitable error correcting block code. In a typicalblock code, an information message or sequence is split up into codeblocks (CBs), and an encoder (e.g., a CODEC) at the transmitting devicethen mathematically adds redundancy to the information message.Exploitation of this redundancy in the encoded information message canimprove the reliability of the message, enabling correction for any biterrors that may occur due to the noise.

In early 5G NR specifications, user data traffic is coded usingquasi-cyclic low-density parity check (LDPC) with two different basegraphs: one base graph is used for large code blocks and/or high coderates, while the other base graph is used otherwise. Control informationand the physical broadcast channel (PBCH) are coded using Polar coding,based on nested sequences. For these channels, puncturing, shortening,and repetition are used for rate matching.

However, those of ordinary skill in the art will understand that aspectsof the present disclosure may be implemented utilizing any suitablechannel code. Various implementations of scheduling entities 108 andscheduled entities 106 may include suitable hardware and capabilities(e.g., an encoder, a decoder, and/or a CODEC) to utilize one or more ofthese channel codes for wireless communication.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may utilize one ormore multiplexing and multiple access algorithms to enable simultaneouscommunication of the various devices. For example, 5G NR specificationsprovide multiple access for UL transmissions from UEs 222 and 224 tobase station 210, and for multiplexing for DL transmissions from basestation 210 to one or more UEs 222 and 224, utilizing orthogonalfrequency division multiplexing (OFDM) with a cyclic prefix (CP). Inaddition, for UL transmissions, 5G NR specifications provide support fordiscrete Fourier transform-spread-OFDM (DFT-s-OFDM) with a CP (alsoreferred to as single-carrier I-DMA (SC-FDMA)). However, within thescope of the present disclosure, multiplexing and multiple access arenot limited to the above schemes, and may be provided utilizing timedivision multiple access (TDMA), code division multiple access (CDMA),frequency division multiple access (FDMA), sparse code multiple access(SCMA), resource spread multiple access (RSMA), or other suitablemultiple access schemes. Further, multiplexing DL transmissions from thebase station 210 to UEs 222 and 224 may be provided utilizing timedivision multiplexing (TDM), code division multiplexing (CDM), frequencydivision multiplexing (FDM), orthogonal frequency division multiplexing(OFDM), sparse code multiplexing (SCM), or other suitable multiplexingschemes.

The air interface in the radio access network 200 may further utilizeone or more duplexing algorithms. Duplex refers to a point-to-pointcommunication link where both endpoints can communicate with one anotherin both directions. Full duplex means both endpoints can simultaneouslycommunicate with one another. Half duplex means only one endpoint cansend information to the other at a time. In a wireless link, a fullduplex channel generally relies on physical isolation of a transmitterand receiver, and suitable interference cancellation technologies. Fullduplex emulation is frequently implemented for wireless links byutilizing frequency division duplex (FDD) or time division duplex (TDD).In FDD, transmissions in different directions operate at differentcarrier frequencies. In TDD, transmissions in different directions on agiven channel are separated from one another using time divisionmultiplexing. That is, at some times the channel is dedicated fortransmissions in one direction, while at other times the channel isdedicated for transmissions in the other direction, where the directionmay change very rapidly, e.g., several times per slot.

Various aspects of the present disclosure will be described withreference to an OFDM waveform, schematically illustrated in FIG. 3. Itshould be understood by those of ordinary skill in the art that thevarious aspects of the present disclosure may be applied to an SC-FDMAwaveform in substantially the same way as described herein below. Thatis, while some examples of the present disclosure may focus on an OFDMlink for clarity, it should be understood that the same principles maybe applied as well to SC-FDMA waveforms.

Referring now to FIG. 3, an expanded view of an exemplary DL subframe302 is illustrated, showing an OFDM resource grid. However, as thoseskilled in the art will readily appreciate, the PHY transmissionstructure for any particular application may vary from the exampledescribed here, depending on any number of factors. Here, time is in thehorizontal direction with units of OFDM symbols; and frequency is in thevertical direction with units of subcarriers.

The resource grid 304 may be used to schematically representtime-frequency resources for a given antenna port. That is, in amultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) implementation with multipleantenna ports available, a corresponding multiple number of resourcegrids 304 may be available for communication. The resource grid 304 isdivided into multiple resource elements (REs) 306. An RE, which is 1subcarrier×1 symbol, is the smallest discrete part of the time-frequencygrid, and contains a single complex value representing data from aphysical channel or signal. Depending on the modulation utilized in aparticular implementation, each RE may represent one or more bits ofinformation. In some examples, a block of REs may be referred to as aphysical resource block (PRB) or more simply a resource block (RB) 308,which contains any suitable number of consecutive subcarriers in thefrequency domain. In one example, an RB may include 12 subcarriers, anumber independent of the numerology used. In some examples, dependingon the numerology, an RB may include any suitable number of consecutiveOFDM symbols in the time domain. Within the present disclosure, it isassumed that a single RB such as the RB 308 entirely corresponds to asingle direction of communication (either transmission or reception fora given device).

A set of continuous or discontinuous resource blocks may be referred toherein as a Resource Block Group (RBG) or sub-band. A set of sub-bandsmay span the entire bandwidth. Scheduling of UEs (scheduled entities)for downlink or uplink transmissions typically involves scheduling oneor more resource elements 306 within one or more sub-bands. Thus, a UEgenerally utilizes only a subset of the resource grid 304. In someexamples, an RB may be the smallest unit of resources that can beallocated to a UE. Thus, the more RBs scheduled for a UE, and the higherthe modulation scheme chosen for the air interface, the higher the datarate for the UE.

In this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying less than theentire bandwidth of the subframe 302, with some subcarriers illustratedabove and below the RB 308. In a given implementation, the subframe 302may have a bandwidth corresponding to any number of one or more RBs 308.Further, in this illustration, the RB 308 is shown as occupying lessthan the entire duration of the subframe 302, although this is merelyone possible example.

Each 1 ms subframe 302 may consist of one or multiple adjacent slots. Inthe example shown in FIG. 3, one subframe 302 includes four slots 310,as an illustrative example. In some examples, a slot may be definedaccording to a specified number of OFDM symbols with a given cyclicprefix (CP) length. For example, a slot may include 7 or 14 OFDM symbolswith a nominal CP. Additional examples may include mini-slots having ashorter duration (e.g., one or two OFDM symbols). These mini-slots mayin some cases be transmitted occupying resources scheduled for ongoingslot transmissions for the same or for different UEs. Any number ofresource blocks or resource block groups (e.g., groups of sub-carriersand OFDM symbols) may be utilized within a subframe or slot.

An expanded view of one of the slots 310 illustrates the slot 310including a control region 312 and a data region 314. In general, thecontrol region 312 may carry control channels (e.g., PDCCH), and thedata region 314 may carry data channels (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH). Ofcourse, a slot may contain all DL, all UL, or at least one DL portionand at least one UL portion. The simple structure illustrated in FIG. 3is merely exemplary in nature, and different slot structures may beutilized, and may include one or more of each of the control region(s)and data region(s).

Although not illustrated in FIG. 3, the various REs 306 within a RB 308may be scheduled to carry one or more physical channels, includingcontrol channels, shared channels, data channels, etc. Other REs 306within the RB 308 may also carry pilots or reference signals, includingbut not limited to a demodulation reference signal (DMRS) a controlreference signal (CRS), or a sounding reference signal (SRS). Thesepilots or reference signals may provide for a receiving device toperform channel estimation of the corresponding channel, which mayenable coherent demodulation/detection of the control and/or datachannels within the RB 308.

In a DL transmission, the transmitting device (e.g., the schedulingentity 108) may allocate one or more REs 306 (e.g., within a controlregion 312) to carry DL control information including one or more DLcontrol channels, such as a PBCH; a PSS; a SSS; a physical controlformat indicator channel (PCFICH); a physical hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) indicator channel (PHICH); and/or a physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH), etc., to one or more scheduled entities. ThePCFICH provides information to assist a receiving device in receivingand decoding the PDCCH. The PDCCH carries downlink control information(DCI) including but not limited to power control commands, schedulinginformation, a grant, and/or an assignment of REs for DL and ULtransmissions. The PHICH carries HARQ feedback transmissions such as anacknowledgment (ACK) or negative acknowledgment (NACK). HARQ is atechnique well-known to those of ordinary skill in the art, wherein theintegrity of packet transmissions may be checked at the receiving sidefor accuracy, e.g., utilizing any suitable integrity checking mechanism,such as a checksum or a cyclic redundancy check (CRC). If the integrityof the transmission confirmed, an ACK may be transmitted, whereas if notconfirmed, a NACK may be transmitted. In response to a NACK, thetransmitting device may send a HARQ retransmission, which may implementchase combining, incremental redundancy, etc.

In an UL transmission, the transmitting device (e.g., the scheduledentity 106) may utilize one or more REs 306 to carry UL controlinformation including one or more UL control channels, such as aphysical uplink control channel (PUCCH), to the scheduling entity. ULcontrol information may include a variety of packet types andcategories, including pilots, reference signals, and informationconfigured to enable or assist in decoding uplink data transmissions. Insome examples, the control information may include a scheduling request(SR), i.e., request for the scheduling entity to schedule uplinktransmissions. Here, in response to the SR transmitted on the controlchannel, the scheduling entity may transmit downlink control informationthat may schedule resources for uplink packet transmissions. UL controlinformation may also include HARQ feedback, channel state feedback(CSF), or any other suitable UL control information.

In addition to control information, one or more REs 306 (e.g., withinthe data region 314) may be allocated for user data traffic. Suchtraffic may be carried on one or more traffic channels, such as, for aDL transmission, a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH); or for anUL transmission, a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH). In someexamples, one or more REs 306 within the data region 314 may beconfigured to carry system information blocks (SIBs), carryinginformation that may enable access to a given cell.

These physical channels described above are generally multiplexed andmapped to transport channels for handling at the medium access control(MAC) layer. Transport channels carry blocks of information calledtransport blocks (TB). The transport block size (TBS), which maycorrespond to a number of bits of information, may be a controlledparameter, based on the modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and thenumber of RBs in a given transmission.

The channels or carriers illustrated in FIG. 3 are not necessarily allof the channels or carriers that may be utilized between a schedulingentity and scheduled entities, and those of ordinary skill in the artwill recognize that other channels or carriers may be utilized inaddition to those illustrated, such as other traffic, control, andfeedback channels.

According to an aspect of the disclosure, one or more slots may bestructured as self-contained slots. For example, FIGS. 4 and 5illustrate two example structures of self-contained slots 400 and 500.The self-contained slots 400 and/or 500 may be used, in some examples,in place of the slot 310 described above and illustrated in FIG. 3.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a downlink (DL)-centricslot 400 according to some aspects of the disclosure. The nomenclatureDL-centric generally refers to a structure wherein more resources areallocated for transmissions in the DL direction (e.g., transmissionsfrom the scheduling entity 108 to the scheduled entity 106). In theexample shown in FIG. 4, time is illustrated along a horizontal axis,while frequency is illustrated along a vertical axis. The time-frequencyresources of the DL-centric slot 400 may be divided into a DL burst 402,a DL traffic region 404 and an UL burst 406.

The DL burst 402 may exist in the initial or beginning portion of theDL-centric slot. The DL burst 402 may include any suitable DLinformation in one or more channels. In some examples, the DL burst 402may include various scheduling information and/or control informationcorresponding to various portions of the DL-centric slot. In someconfigurations, the DL burst 402 may be a physical DL control channel(PDCCH), as indicated in FIG. 4. The DL-centric slot may also include aDL traffic region 404. The DL traffic region 404 may sometimes bereferred to as the payload of the DL-centric slot. The DL traffic region404 may include the communication resources utilized to communicate DLuser data traffic from the scheduling entity 108 (e.g., eNB) to thescheduled entity 106 (e.g., UE). In some configurations, the DL trafficregion 404 may include a physical DL shared channel (PDSCH).

The UL burst 406 may include any suitable UL information in one or morechannels. In some examples, the UL burst 406 may include feedbackinformation corresponding to various other portions of the DL-centricslot. For example, the UL burst 406 may include feedback informationcorresponding to the DL burst 402 and/or DL traffic region 404.Non-limiting examples of feedback information may include an ACK signal,a NACK signal, a HARQ process identifier (ID), and/or various othersuitable types of information. The UL burst 406 may include additionalor alternative information, such as information pertaining to randomaccess channel (RACH) procedures, scheduling requests (SRs) (e.g.,within a PUCCH), and various other suitable types of information.

Here, a slot such as the DL-centric slot 400 may be referred to as aself-contained slot when all of the data carried in the DL trafficregion 404 is scheduled in the DL burst 402 of the same slot; andfurther, when all of the data carried in the DL traffic region 404 isacknowledged (or at least has an opportunity to be acknowledged) in theUL burst 406 of the same slot. In this way, each self-contained slot maybe considered a self-contained entity, not necessarily requiring anyother slot to complete a scheduling-transmission-acknowledgment cyclefor any given packet.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the end of the DL traffic region 404 may beseparated in time from the beginning of the UL burst 406. This timeseparation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, a guard period, aguard interval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separationprovides time for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., receptionoperation by the scheduled entity 106 (e.g., UE)) to UL communication(e.g., transmission by the scheduled entity 106 (e.g., UE)). One ofordinary skill in the art will understand that the foregoing is merelyone example of a DL-centric slot and alternative structures havingsimilar features may exist without necessarily deviating from theaspects described herein.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of an uplink (UL)-centric slot500 according to some aspects of the disclosure. The nomenclatureUL-centric generally refers to a structure wherein more resources areallocated for transmissions in the UL direction (e.g., transmissionsfrom the scheduled entity 106 to the scheduling entity 108). In theexample shown in FIG. 5, time is illustrated along a horizontal axis,while frequency is illustrated along a vertical axis. The time-frequencyresources of the UL-centric slot 500 may be divided into a DL burst 502,an UL traffic region 504 and an UL burst 506.

The DL burst 502 may exist in the initial or beginning portion of theUL-centric slot. The DL burst 502 in FIG. 5 may be similar to the DLburst 402 described above with reference to FIG. 4. The UL-centric slotmay also include an UL traffic region 504. The UL traffic region 504 maysometimes be referred to as the payload of the UL-centric slot. The ULtraffic region 504 may include the communication resources utilized tocommunicate UL user data traffic from the scheduled entity 106 (e.g.,UE) to the scheduling entity 108 (e.g., eNB). In some configurations,the UL traffic region 504 may be a physical UL shared channel (PUSCH).As illustrated in FIG. 5, the end of the DL burst 502 may be separatedin time from the beginning of the UL traffic region 504. This time,separation may sometimes be referred to as a gap, guard period, guardinterval, and/or various other suitable terms. This separation providestime for the switch-over from DL communication (e.g., receptionoperation by the scheduled entity 106 (e.g., UE)) to UL communication(e.g., transmission by the scheduled entity 106 (e.g., UE)).

The UL burst 506 in FIG. 5 may be similar to the UL burst 406 describedabove with reference to FIG. 4. The UL burst 506 may additionally oralternatively include information pertaining to channel qualityindicator (CQI), sounding reference signals (SRSs), and various othersuitable types of information. One of ordinary skill in the art willunderstand that the foregoing is merely one example of an UL-centricslot, and alternative structures having similar features may existwithout necessarily deviating from the aspects described herein.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example of a wireless communication system 600supporting MIMO technology. In a MIMO system, a transmitter 602 includesmultiple transmit antennas 604 (e.g., N transmit antennas) and areceiver 606 includes multiple receive antennas 608 (e.g., M receiveantennas). Thus, there are N×M signal paths 610 from the transmitantennas 604 to the receive antennas 608. Each of the transmitter 602and the receiver 606 may be implemented, for example, within a scheduledentity, a scheduling entity or other wireless communication device.

The use of MIMO technology enables the wireless communication system toexploit the spatial domain to support spatial multiplexing, beamforming,and transmit diversity. Spatial multiplexing may be used to transmitdifferent streams of data, also referred to as layers, simultaneously onthe same time-frequency resource. The traffic streams may be transmittedto a single scheduled entity or UE to increase the data rate or tomultiple scheduled entities or UEs to increase the overall systemcapacity, the latter being referred to as multi-user MIMO (MU-MIMO).This is achieved by spatially precoding each traffic stream (i.e.,applying a scaling of an amplitude and a phase) and then transmittingeach spatially precoded stream through a respective transmit antenna onthe downlink. The spatially precoded traffic streams arrive at the UE(s)with different spatial signatures, which enables each of the UE(s) torecover the one or more traffic streams destined for that UE. On theuplink, each scheduled entity or UE transmits a spatially precodedtraffic stream, which enables the scheduling entity to identify thesource of each spatially precoded traffic stream.

The number of traffic streams or layers corresponds to the rank of thetransmission. In general, the rank of the MIMO system 600 is limited bythe number of transmit or receive antennas 604 or 608, whichever islower. In addition, the channel conditions at the scheduled entity, aswell as other considerations, such as the available resources at thescheduling entity, may also affect the transmission rank. For example,the rank (and therefore, the number of traffic streams) assigned to aparticular scheduled entity on the downlink may be determined based onthe rank indicator (RI) transmitted from the scheduled entity to thescheduling entity. The RI may be determined based on the antennaconfiguration (e.g., the number of transmit and receive antennas) andthe signal to interference plus noise ratio (SINR) on each of thereceive antennas. The RI may indicate, for example, the number of layersthat may be supported under the current channel conditions. Thescheduling entity may use the RI, along with resource information (e.g.,the available resources and amount of data to be scheduled for thescheduled entity), to assign a transmission rank to the scheduledentity.

In Time Division Duplex (TDD) systems, the uplink and downlink arereciprocal in that each uses different time slots of the same frequencybandwidth. As such, in TDD systems, the scheduling entity may assign therank based on uplink SINR measurements (e.g., based on a SoundingReference Signal (SRS) transmitted from the scheduled entity or otherpilot signal). Based on the assigned rank, the scheduling entity maythen transmit the CSI-RS with separate C-RS sequences for each layer toprovide for multi-layer channel estimation. From the CSI-RS, thescheduled entity may measure the channel quality across layers andresource blocks and feed-back the channel quality indicator (CQI),precoding matric indicator (PMI), and RI values to the scheduling entityfor use in updating the rank and assigning resource elements for futuredownlink transmissions.

In the simplest case, as shown in FIG. 6, a rank-2 spatial multiplexingtransmission on a 2×2 MIMO antenna configuration will transmit onetraffic stream from each transmit antenna 604. Each traffic streamreaches each receive antenna 608 along a different signal path 610. Thereceiver 606 may then reconstruct the traffic streams using the receivedsignals from each receive antenna 608.

In legacy (e.g., 4G) wireless communication networks, multiple packets(also referred to herein as transport blocks or codewords) may bescheduled within the same slot. However, there are a number ofrestrictions on scheduling. For example, when scheduling multiple DCIwithin a PDCCH, each DCI is scrambled with a different radio networktemporary identifier (RNTI) to identify the recipient(s) of the DCI,thus limiting the types of grants that may be simultaneously scheduled.In addition, when multiple packets are scheduled on the sametime-frequency resources, but spatially separated from one anotherutilizing MIMO, each packet is assigned the same hybrid automatic repeatrequest (HARQ) process identifier (ID), and the grant for both packetsis included in the same PDCCH. Furthermore, the same modulation andcoding scheme (MCS) is utilized for both packets.

In accordance with various aspects of the present disclosure, to provideflexibility in scheduling downlink transmissions and uplinktransmissions in next generation (e.g., 5G) wireless communicationnetworks, a grant (e.g., a downlink assignment or uplink grant) may bescheduled using multiple control signals, where subsequent controlsignals may modify one or more properties of the grant. In someexamples, a grant for a packet indicated in first DCI of a first PDCCHmay be modified by transmitting subsequent control information (e.g.,second DCI) on a subsequent control channel (e.g., a second PDCCH). Forexample, the grant may be modified to add a packet to the grant fortransmission on a different set of time-frequency resources or adifferent set of one or more MIMO layers within the same slot, modify atime-frequency resource allocation of the grant, modify the waveformutilized for the grant, modify the transmit-diversity scheme utilizedfor the grant, or indicate specific processing for the packet.

The first and second PDCCHs may be concurrent (e.g., within the sameslot) or separated in time (e.g., transmitted within different slots).In some examples, the second PDCCH includes a new grant for anadditional packet to be transmitted on one or more different MIMO layersof the same time-frequency resources or on one or more MIMO layers ofdifferent time-frequency resources within the same slot. When the sametime-frequency resources are utilized for the initial packet and theadditional packet, either the same HARQ process ID or different HARQprocess IDs may be assigned to the packets. When differenttime-frequency resources are utilized for the additional packet,different HARQ process IDs may be assigned to each of the packets. Thepackets may further utilize different MCSs.

FIG. 7 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary scheduling entity 700 employing aprocessing system 714. For example, the scheduling entity 700 may be anext generation (5G) base station as illustrated in any one or more ofFIGS. 1 and 2. In another example, the scheduling entity 700 may be auser equipment (UE) as illustrated in any one or more of FIGS. 1 and 2.

The scheduling entity 700 may be implemented with a processing system714 that includes one or more processors 704. Examples of processors 704include microprocessors, microcontrollers, digital signal processors(DSPs), field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), programmable logicdevices (PLDs), state machines, gated logic, discrete hardware circuits,and other suitable hardware configured to perform the variousfunctionality described throughout this disclosure. In various examples,the scheduling entity 700 may be configured to perform any one or moreof the functions described herein. That is, the processor 704, asutilized in a scheduling entity 700, may be used to implement any one ormore of the processes described below. The processor 704 may in someinstances be implemented via a baseband or modem chip and in otherimplementations, the processor 704 may itself comprise a number ofdevices distinct and different from a baseband or modem chip (e.g., insuch scenarios is may work in concert to achieve embodiments discussedherein). And as mentioned above, various hardware arrangements andcomponents outside of a baseband modem processor can be used inimplementations, including RF-chains, power amplifiers, modulators,buffers, interleavers, adders/summers, etc.

In this example, the processing system 714 may be implemented with a busarchitecture, represented generally by the bus 702. The bus 702 mayinclude any number of interconnecting buses and bridges depending on thespecific application of the processing system 714 and the overall designconstraints. The bus 702 communicatively couples together variouscircuits including one or more processors (represented generally by theprocessor 704), a memory 705, and computer-readable media (representedgenerally by the computer-readable medium 706). The bus 702 may alsolink various other circuits such as timing sources, peripherals, voltageregulators, and power management circuits, which are well known in theart, and therefore, will not be described any further. A bus interface708 provides an interface between the bus 702 and a transceiver 710. Thetransceiver 710 provides a means for communicating with various otherapparatus over a transmission medium (e.g., air interface). Dependingupon the nature of the apparatus, a user interface 712 (e.g., keypad,display, speaker, microphone, joystick) may also be provided. Of course,such a user interface 712 is optional, and may be omitted in someexamples, such as a base station.

The processor 704 is responsible for managing the bus 702 and generalprocessing, including the execution of software stored on thecomputer-readable medium 706. The software, when executed by theprocessor 704, causes the processing system 714 to perform the variousfunctions described below for any particular apparatus. Thecomputer-readable medium 706 and the memory 705 may also be used forstoring data that is manipulated by the processor 704 when executingsoftware.

One or more processors 704 in the processing system may executesoftware. Software shall be construed broadly to mean instructions,instruction sets, code, code segments, program code, programs,subprograms, software modules, applications, software applications,software packages, routines, subroutines, objects, executables, threadsof execution, procedures, functions, etc., whether referred to assoftware, firmware, middleware, microcode, hardware descriptionlanguage, or otherwise. The software may reside on a computer-readablemedium 706.

The computer-readable medium 706 may be a non-transitorycomputer-readable medium. A non-transitory computer-readable mediumincludes, by way of example, a magnetic storage device (e.g., hard disk,floppy disk, magnetic strip), an optical disk (e.g., a compact disc (CD)or a digital versatile disc (DVD)), a smart card, a flash memory device(e.g., a card, a stick, or a key drive), a random access memory (RAM), aread only memory (ROM), a programmable ROM (PROM), an erasable PROM(EPROM), an electrically erasable PROM (EEPROM), a register, a removabledisk, and any other suitable medium for storing software and/orinstructions that may be accessed and read by a computer. Thecomputer-readable medium may also include, by way of example, a carrierwave, a transmission line, and any other suitable medium fortransmitting software and/or instructions that may be accessed and readby a computer. The computer-readable medium 706 may reside in theprocessing system 714, external to the processing system 714, ordistributed across multiple entities including the processing system714. The computer-readable medium 706 may be embodied in a computerprogram product. By way of example, a computer program product mayinclude a computer-readable medium in packaging materials. Those skilledin the art will recognize how best to implement the describedfunctionality presented throughout this disclosure depending on theparticular application and the overall design constraints imposed on theoverall system.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 704 may includecircuitry configured for various functions. For example, the processor704 may include resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741,configured to generate, schedule, and modify a resource assignment orgrant of time-frequency resources (e.g., a set of one or more resourceelements). For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry741 may schedule time-frequency resources within a plurality of timedivision duplex (TDD) and/or frequency division duplex (FDD) subframes,slots, and/or mini-slots to carry user data traffic and/or controlinformation to and/or from multiple UEs (scheduled entities).

In various aspects of the disclosure, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 may be configured to initially schedule a grant(e.g., a downlink assignment or uplink grant) for a packet associatedwith a scheduled entity and subsequently modify one or more propertiesof the grant to produce grant modification information. For example, thegrant modification information may indicate that additional resourceshave been reserved to transmit one or more additional packets (e.g., adifferent set of time-frequency resources or a different set of MIMOlayers within the same slot), a time-frequency resource allocation ofthe grant has been modified, the waveform utilized for the grant hasbeen modified, the transmit-diversity scheme utilized for the grant hasbeen modified, or specific processing to be utilized for the packet.

In some examples, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741may generate a first physical downlink control channel (PDCCH) carryingfirst downlink control information (DCI) including the initial grant fortransmission within a first slot and a second PDCCH carrying second DCIincluding the grant modification information for transmission within asecond slot that occurs later in time that the first slot. For example,the second slot may include the physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH)or physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) scheduled for transmission ofthe packet(s). In other examples, the grant modification information maybe transmitted within a separate PDCCH in the same slot as the PDCCHcontaining the initial grant. In still other examples, the PDCCHcontaining the initial grant may include multiple DCI, each containing aseparate grant for the scheduled entity (e.g., a dynamic grant,semi-persistently scheduled grant, and/or other types of grants), andthe grant modification information may be transmitted within differentDCI (e.g., later DCI) than the DCI containing the initial grant of thesame PDCCH.

Thus, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may utilize aconcurrent or later PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH) to modify asubset of the properties (e.g., fields, sections, or information) ofanother concurrent or previous PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH) fora downlink or uplink grant (e.g., PDSCH or PUSCH) by modifying a valueof one or more of the properties. In some examples, the previous PDCCHmay be transmitted within the same slot on a previous OFDM symbol or ina previous slot, as discussed above.

In some examples, PDCCH properties and/or grants that may potentially bemodified may be indicated within the PDCCH. For example, an indicationthat a PDCCH property and/or grant may be modified may include one ormore bits that may inform the scheduled entity that the property and/orgrant “may be modified,” “will be modified,” or “will not be modified”in a concurrent or subsequent PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH).Thus, a final PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH) for a set of resourceelements within a slot may include the “will not be modified” indicatoror other indicator that the PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH) is afinal PDCCH. Requiring a final PDCCH may avoid the need for multiplemissed-grant hypotheses. In some examples, a first (or any previous)PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH) may be ignored if a final PDCCH (orDCI within the PDCCH) finalizing the grant is missed. In some examples,separate final PDCCHs (or DCI within the same PDCCH) may be transmittedfor different properties of a grant.

In some examples, to reduce the PDCCH overhead, a second DCI/PDCCH thatmodifies a first DCI/PDCCH may not include any unmodifiable information(e.g., any information that may not change from the first to the secondDCI/PDCCH). In other examples, the second DCI/PDCCH may set theunmodifiable information to the same as the first DCI/PDCCH. If theunmodifiable information is set to the same as the first DCI/PDCCH atthe PDCCH transmitter, and the PDCCH receiver at the scheduled entitydetermines that this information is not the same in the first and thesecond DCI/PDCCH, the scheduled entity may ignore both the first andsecond DCI/PDCCHs.

In some examples, the second DCI/PDCCH may include a pointer to thefirst DCI/PDCCH. For example, the pointer may be an explicit pointer tothe first DCI/PDCCH (e.g., a pointer to the DCI/PDCCH transmitted oncontrol resource set #i within slot N). As another example, the pointermay be an implicit pointer conveyed by the time-frequency resources(e.g., control resource set #) carrying the second DCI/PDCCH.

In some examples, after scheduling the initial grant, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may determine that the channelbetween the scheduling entity 700 and the scheduled entity can supportone or more additional MIMO layers (e.g., based on an updated CQI or SRSreceived from the scheduled entity) or may determine that an additionalurgent packet (e.g., an Ultra Reliable Low Latency Communication (URLLC)packet) may need to be transmitted to the scheduled entity, and maytherefore generate the grant modification information for the additionalpacket. For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry741 may be configured to generate a first control signal (e.g., downlinkcontrol information (DCI) within a physical downlink control channel(PDCCH)) within a first slot that includes a grant for the transmissionof a first packet within a first set of resource elements (e.g., firstset of time-frequency resources) and on one or more MIMO layers of asecond slot (which may, in some examples, be the same as the firstslot). The resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may then beconfigured to generate a second control signal within the first slot ora subsequent slot (e.g., a slot prior to or the same as the second slot)that includes grant modification information for the transmission of asecond packet within a second set of resource elements and on one ormore additional MIMO layers within the second slot. In some examples,the first and second sets of resource elements are the same.

For example, a first PDCCH transmitted in slot n1 may schedule a PDSCH(or PUSCH) within slot n1+k01, where k01 represents a delay or offsetfrom slot n1. In addition, a second PDCCH transmitted in slot n2 mayinclude grant modification information that schedules an additionalPDSCH (or PUSCH) within slot n2+k02, where k02 represents a delay oroffset from slot n2. It should be noted that k01 and k02 may representdelays in terms of slots, mini-slots or other suitable units of time,such as chip duration or sample duration of a waveform. Whenn1+k01=n2+k02 and each PDCCH grants the same resource block(s) ondifferent MIMO spatial layers, this results in the two PDSCHs (or twoPUSCHs) being simultaneously scheduled on the same time-frequencyresources.

In addition, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 mayassign the same modulation and coding scheme (MCS) to each of thepackets or may assign a different MCS to the second packet (e.g., basedon an updated MCS index received from the scheduled entity). If the sameMCS is utilized, the MCS may not be included in the DCI for the secondpacket. In this example, the scheduled entity will infer the MCS for thesecond packet from the MCS included in the initial grant for the firstpacket. In some examples, the wireless network may not allow the MCS tochange between the first and second packets. In this example, if thegrant modification information includes a different MCS, the scheduledentity may ignore the grant modification information.

The resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may furtherschedule the same HARQ process ID for both packets or different HARQprocess IDs for the packets. In some examples, different HARQ processIDs may be used for each of the packets when the initial grant and thegrant modification information are transmitted within different PDCCH.In other examples, different HARQ process IDs may be used for each ofthe packets when the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741schedules different time-frequency resources within the same slot foreach of the packets. The number of HARQ process IDs is configurable, andmay be determined, for example, based on the type of duplexing (e.g.,TDD or FDD), the subframe or slot structure, and other factors. EachHARQ process ID identifies a respective stop and wait (SAW) parallelprocess running on the scheduling entity and the scheduled entity.

The resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may further reservetime-frequency resources for the transmission of acknowledgementinformation (e.g., ACK or NACK) for each of the packets. In someexamples, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 mayutilize a block ACK, in which time-frequency resources are automaticallyreserved for a maximum number of packets that a scheduled entity maysimultaneously receive (e.g., on the same time-frequency resources),which may be based, for example, on the maximum rank supported by ascheduled entity. For example, the maximum rank may be either four oreight.

If the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 utilizes a blockACK and the spatially transmitted packets have the same HARQ process ID,the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may not scheduleadditional ACK resources for each new packet that is simultaneouslytransmitted to a scheduled entity on different MIMO streams. However,when different HARQ process ID's are utilized for each of the packets,the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may scheduleseparate subfields for each HARQ process ID within a block ACK.

For packets having the same HARQ process ID, if there are less ACK bitsreserved than spatially transmitted packets, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 may utilize an ACK-bundling scheme in which asingle ACK bit is utilized for more than one packet. Thus, if eitherpacket is not received correctly at the scheduled entity (or schedulingentity for PUSCH transmissions), the scheduled entity (or schedulingentity) transmits a NACK on the ACK bit. ACK bundling works well whenall packets are scheduled in the same DCI (e.g., upon successfullydecoding the DCI, the scheduled entity has knowledge of the number ofpackets to be acknowledged). However, when bundling across multiple DCI,as in various aspects of the present disclosure, either an ACK may alsoinclude the number of packets received or the scheduled entity may beinformed of the number of packets associated with the ACK bundle forPDSCH grants. In some examples, one or more of the DCI may include thetotal number of packets to be acknowledged in the ACK bundle.

In some examples, each of the packets may have a differentretransmission sequence number (RSN)/redundancy version (RV). The RSNindicates the number of times the same packet has been retransmitted,while the RV indicates the specific configuration of systematic andparity bits utilized in the retransmission. Thus, for example, one ofthe packets may be a new packet, while the other packet may be aretransmission of a NACKed packet. In some examples, the retransmittedpacket may utilize the same beam-direction as the new packet.

In some examples, if both the first and second packets are new packets,the grant modification information may modify the initial grant toallocate additional resources to accommodate a single larger packetcontaining both the first and second new packets. In this example, eachof the first and second new packets may utilize the same HARQ process IDand same RSN/RV for retransmissions thereof. In other examples, each ofthe first and second packets may be separately acknowledged, asdescribed above.

In some examples, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741may determine that a low latency packet (e.g., a URLLC packet) ofcontrol and/or user data traffic for the same or a different scheduledentity may need to puncture the initial grant. In this example, theresource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 may transmit a secondPDCCH including grant modification information that modifies the initialgrant. For example, the second PDCCH may modify the start and/or end ofthe grant (e.g., starting OFDM symbol and/or ending OFDM symbol) or thetransmit bandwidth (e.g., number of resource blocks) to accommodate thepuncturing. In some examples, the MCS may not change, and the transportblock size computation may automatically adapt to the revised number ofresource elements (REs) in the grant.

In some examples, the second PDCCH may be transmitted in a slotsubsequent to the slot containing the packet to indicate specificprocessing to be applied to the packet as a result of the puncturing. Inthis example, the RB allocation of the packet is not changed, but thescheduled entity is provided with puncturing information that indicatesthe resources punctured and any special processing to be utilized forthe punctured packet.

In some examples, the second PDCCH may carry DCI including a pre-emptionindicator that indicates the specific resource elements (REs) that havebeen punctured for a DL assignment or an UL grant. In examples in whichREs for multiple UEs have been punctured, the pre-emption indicator DCImay be multi-cast (i.e., sent to two or more UEs), and each UE may beconfigured to extract the puncturing information relevant to that UE. Insome examples, the second PDCCH may carry DCI including a slot formatindicator (SFI) that indicates whether each of the OFDM symbols within aslot is a DL symbol, an UL symbol, or a flexible symbol that may beutilized for DL or UL. In this example, the SFI may modify one or moreflexible OFDM symbols within a slot to be either DL symbols or ULsymbols, which may have the effect of cancelling a prior semi-staticallyscheduled transmission (or puncturing the semi-statically scheduledtransmission) on those symbols. In some examples, the second PDCCH mayindicate that an additional UL grant has been scheduled on overlappingUL time-frequency resources associated with a previously scheduled ULtransmission of control and/or data scheduled for a UE, and the UE mayutilize predetermined dropping rules to determine that thelater-scheduled overlapping UL grant will puncture at least a portion ofthe previously scheduled UL grant for the UE. The resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741 may further operate in coordination withresource assignment and scheduling software 751.

The processor 704 may further include downlink (DL) traffic and controlchannel generation and transmission circuitry 742, configured togenerate and transmit downlink user data traffic and control channelswithin one or more subframes, slots, and/or mini-slots. The DL trafficand control channel generation and transmission circuitry 742 mayoperate in coordination with the resource assignment and schedulingcircuitry 741 to place the DL user data traffic and/or controlinformation onto a time division duplex (TDD) or frequency divisionduplex (FDD) carrier by including the DL user data traffic and/orcontrol information within one or more subframes, slots, and/ormini-slots in accordance with the resources assigned to the DL user datatraffic and/or control information.

For example, the DL traffic and control channel generation andtransmission circuitry 742 may be configured to operate in coordinationwith the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 to generate aphysical downlink control channel (PDCCH) (or Enhanced PDCCH (ePDCCH))including downlink control information (DCI). In some examples, one ormore of the PDCCHs may include grant modification information modifyinga previous grant sent in a previous PDCCH, a concurrent PDCCH, or thesame PDCCH. The DL traffic and control channel generation andtransmission circuitry 742 may further be configured to generate aphysical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) (or Enhanced PDSCH (ePDSCH))including downlink user data traffic. The DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 may further operate incoordination with DL traffic and control channel generation andtransmission software 752.

The processor 704 may further include uplink (UL) traffic and controlchannel reception and processing circuitry 743, configured to receiveand process uplink control channels and uplink traffic channels from oneor more scheduled entities. For example, the UL traffic and controlchannel reception and processing circuitry 743 may be configured toreceive uplink user data traffic from one or more scheduled entities. Inaddition, the UL traffic and control channel reception and processingcircuitry 743 may operate in coordination with the resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741 to schedule UL user data traffictransmissions, DL user data traffic transmissions and/or DL user datatraffic retransmissions in accordance with the received UCI. The ULtraffic and control channel reception and processing circuitry 743 mayfurther operate in coordination with UL traffic and control channelreception and processing software 753.

FIG. 8 is a conceptual diagram illustrating an example of a hardwareimplementation for an exemplary scheduled entity 800 employing aprocessing system 814. In accordance with various aspects of thedisclosure, an element, or any portion of an element, or any combinationof elements may be implemented with a processing system 814 thatincludes one or more processors 804. For example, the scheduled entity800 may be a user equipment (UE) as illustrated in any one or more ofFIGS. 1 and 2.

The processing system 814 may be substantially the same as theprocessing system 714 illustrated in FIG. 7, including a bus interface808, a bus 802, memory 805, a processor 804, and a computer-readablemedium 806. Furthermore, the scheduled entity 800 may include a userinterface 812 and a transceiver 810 substantially similar to thosedescribed above in FIG. 7. That is, the processor 804, as utilized in ascheduled entity 800, may be used to implement any one or more of theprocesses described below.

In some aspects of the disclosure, the processor 804 may include uplink(UL) traffic and control channel generation and transmission circuitry841, configured to generate and transmit uplinkcontrol/feedback/acknowledgement information on an UL control channel(e.g., a PUCCH) or UL traffic channel (e.g., a PUSCH) in accordance withan uplink grant. The UL traffic and control channel generation andtransmission circuitry 841 may further be configured to generate andtransmit uplink user data traffic on an UL traffic channel (e.g., aPUSCH). The UL traffic and control channel generation and transmissioncircuitry 841 may operate in coordination with UL traffic and controlchannel generation and transmission software 851.

The processor 804 may further include downlink (DL) traffic and controlchannel reception and processing circuitry 842, configured for receivingand processing downlink user data traffic on a traffic channel, and toreceive and process control information on one or more downlink controlchannels. For example, the DL traffic and control channel reception andprocessing circuitry 842 may be configured to receive grants fordownlink transmissions or uplink transmissions within downlink controlinformation (DCI) of a PDCCH.

In various aspects of the present disclosure, the DL traffic and controlchannel reception and processing circuitry 842 may be configured toreceive a grant within a PDCCH and grant modification informationmodifying the grant within a subsequent PDCCH received in a subsequentslot, a concurrent PDCCH received in the same slot, or the same PDCCH.For example, the grant modification information may indicate thatadditional resources have been reserved to transmit one or moreadditional packets (e.g., a different set of time-frequency resources ora different set of MIMO layers within the same slot), a time-frequencyresource allocation of the grant has been modified, the waveformutilized for the grant has been modified, the transmit-diversity schemeutilized for the grant has been modified, or specific processing to beutilized for the packet.

In some examples, the grant modification information indicates thatadditional packet(s) may be simultaneously transmitted or received ondifferent time-frequency resources or on different MIMO layers of thesame time-frequency resources within the same slot. The grantmodification information may further indicate the MCS to utilize for theadditional packet(s), the HARQ process ID to utilize for the additionalpacket(s), resources allocated for acknowledgement of the additionalpacket(s), RSV/RV assigned to the additional packet(s), and otherpertinent information. The DL traffic and control channel reception andprocessing circuitry 842 may operate in coordination with DL traffic andcontrol channel reception and processing software 852.

FIG. 9 illustrates an example of scheduling a grant for at least onepacket transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure. In the exampleshown in FIG. 9, three slots 902 a, 902 b, and 902 c are illustrated,each including a respective control region 904 a, 904 b, and 904 c and arespective traffic region 906 a, 906 b, 906 c. Each of the slots 902 a,902 b, and 902 c may be, for example, a DL-centric slot or an UL-centricslot. Thus, in some examples, the control regions 904 a, 904 b, and 904c may correspond to a DL burst 402 of a DL-centric 400 shown in FIG. 4or a DL burst 502 of an UL-centric slot 500 shown in FIG. 5. The trafficregions 906 a, 906 b, and 906 c may correspond, for example, to a DLtraffic region 404 of a DL-centric slot 400 shown in FIG. 4 or an ULtraffic region 504 of an UL-centric slot shown in FIG. 5. In addition,although not shown, it should be understood that an UL burstcorresponding, for example, to the UL burst 406 or 506 shown in FIG. 4or 5 may further be included at the end of the traffic regions 906 a,906 b, and 906 c.

A first control channel (PDCCH) 908 a carrying first downlink controlinformation (DCI) 910 a including a grant (e.g., a downlink assignmentor an uplink grant) for a UE (scheduled entity) is shown transmitted inthe control region 904 a of the first slot 902 a. The grant indicatestime-frequency resources within the traffic region 906 c of the thirdslot 902 c that have been allocated for transmission of a packet 912(e.g., a PDSCH or PUSCH grant). A second control channel 908 b carryingsecond DCI 910 b including grant modification information (GMI) is showntransmitted in the control region 900 b of the second slot 902 b. TheGMI indicates modifications made to one or more properties of the granttransmitted in the first DCI 910 a. For example, the GMI may indicatethat additional resources have been reserved to transmit one or moreadditional packets (not shown) within the third slot 902 c, atime-frequency resource allocation for the packet 912 in the third slot902 c has been modified, the waveform utilized for the packet 912 hasbeen modified, the transmit-diversity scheme utilized for the packet 912has been modified, or specific processing to be utilized for the packet912.

FIG. 10 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure. In the exampleshown in FIG. 10, two slots 902 a and 902 b are illustrated, eachincluding a respective control region 904 a and 900 b and a respectivetraffic region 906 a and 906 b.

A first control channel (PDCCH) 908 a carrying first downlink controlinformation (DCI) 910 a including a grant (e.g., a downlink assignmentor an uplink grant) for a UE (scheduled entity) is shown transmitted inthe control region 904 a of the first slot 902 a. The grant indicatestime-frequency resources within the traffic region 906 b of the secondslot 902 b that have been allocated for transmission of a packet 912(e.g., a PDSCH or PUSCH grant). A second control channel 908 b carryingsecond DCI 910 b including grant modification information (GMI) is showntransmitted in the control region 900 b of the second slot 902 b. TheGMI indicates modifications made to one or more properties of the granttransmitted in the first DCI 910 a.

FIG. 11 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure. In the exampleshown in FIG. 11, two slots 902 a and 902 b are illustrated, eachincluding a respective control region 904 a and 900 b and a respectivetraffic region 906 a and 906 b.

A first control channel (PDCCH) 908 a carrying first downlink controlinformation (DCI) 910 a including a grant (e.g., a downlink assignmentor an uplink grant) for a UE (scheduled entity) is shown transmitted inthe control region 904 a of the first slot 902 a. The grant indicatestime-frequency resources within the traffic region 906 b of the secondslot 902 b that have been allocated for transmission of a packet 912(e.g., a PDSCH or PUSCH grant). A second control channel 908 b carryingsecond DCI 910 b including grant modification information (GMI) is shownalso transmitted in the control region 904 a of the first slot 902 a.The GMI indicates modifications made to one or more properties of thegrant transmitted in the first DCI 910 a.

In this example, the second PDCCH 908 b may be transmitted on one ormore subsequent OFDM symbols in the control region 904 a or the slot 902a. For example, the first PDCCH 908 a may be transmitted in a first OFDMsymbol of the slot 902 a, while the second PDCCH 908 b may betransmitted in a second or other subsequent OFDM symbol of the slot 902a.

FIG. 12 illustrates another example of scheduling a grant for at leastone packet transmitted within a slot utilizing multiple control channelsaccording to some aspects of the present disclosure. In the exampleshown in FIG. 12, two slots 902 a and 902 b are illustrated, eachincluding a respective control region 904 a and 900 b and a respectivetraffic region 906 a and 906 b.

A first control channel (PDCCH) 908 a carrying first downlink controlinformation (DCI) 910 a including a grant (e.g., a downlink assignmentor an uplink grant) for a UE (scheduled entity) is shown transmitted inthe control region 904 a of the first slot 902 a. The grant indicatestime-frequency resources within the traffic region 906 a of the firstslot 902 a that have been allocated for transmission of a packet 912(e.g., a PDSCH or PUSCH grant).

In the example shown in FIG. 12, a portion of the packet 912 waspunctured to accommodate low latency traffic (e.g., URLLC traffic) 1100.Therefore, a second control channel 908 b carrying second DCI 910 bincluding grant modification information (GMI) may be transmitted in thecontrol region 900 b of the second slot 902 b after transmission of thepacket 912 in the first slot 902 a. The GMI may include puncturinginformation that indicates the resources punctured and any specialprocessing to be utilized for the punctured packet.

Although not shown, it should be understood that in other examples, theGMI may be transmitted prior to transmission of the packet. In thiscase, the GMI may modify the start and/or end of the grant (e.g.,starting OFDM symbol and/or ending OFDM symbol) or the transmitbandwidth (e.g., number of resource blocks) to accommodate thepuncturing. In some examples, the MCS may not change, and the transportblock size computation may automatically adapt to the revised number ofresource elements (REs) in the grant.

FIG. 13 illustrates another example of scheduling of a grant for atleast one packet within a single control channel utilizing multiplecontrol information according to some aspects of the present disclosure.In the example shown in FIG. 13, a single control channel (PDCCH) 908includes multiple DCI 910 a, 910 b, . . . , 910N, denoted DCI-1, DCI-2,. . . DCI-N. Each DCI 910 a, 910 b, . . . 910N may contain a separategrant for the scheduled entity (e.g., a dynamic grant, semi-persistentlyscheduled grant, and/or other types of grants) and/or one or more of theDCI 910 a, 910 b, . . . 910N may include grant modification information(GMI) modifying a previous grant.

In the example shown in FIG. 13, DCI-1 910 a includes a grant 1302, andDCI-N 910N includes GMI 1304 that modifies the grant 1302 included inDCI-1 910 a. The GMI 1304 may modify one or more properties of the grant1302, such as the number of packets associated with the grant 1302, thetime-frequency resources allocated for the grant 1302, the waveformutilized for the grant 1302, the transmit-diversity scheme utilized forthe grant 1302, or specific processing to be utilized for the grant1302. In some examples, instead of modifying the grant 1302 included inDCI-1 910 a, the GMI 1304 may modify another grant included within thesame PDCCH 908 or another PDCCH.

FIG. 14 illustrates an example of scheduling multiple packets fortransmission in a slot utilizing different MIMO layers according to someaspects of the disclosure. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a portion ofa bandwidth is spatially illustrated across multiple MIMO layers. Forsimplicity, only three MIMO layers 1402 a, 1402 b, and 1402 c are shownin FIG. 14. The illustrated bandwidth portion may correspond to, forexample, a portion of a system bandwidth utilized by a radio accessnetwork (e.g., a base station to communicate with one or more UEs) or aportion of a device bandwidth utilized by a particular UE (which may beless than the total system bandwidth available). In some examples, theillustrated bandwidth portion may correspond to a portion of theresource grid 304 shown in FIG. 3. In the example shown in FIG. 14, theillustrated bandwidth portion includes three resource blocks (RBs) 308a, 308 b, and 308 c, each including twelve respective resource elements(REs) 306 in the time-frequency domain.

In some examples, each MIMO layer 1402 a, 1402 b, and 1402 c may beassociated with a respective transmit antenna at the transmitter and maybe utilized to transmit a spatially precoded stream (e.g., a spatiallyprecoded packet or portion of a packet) via the respective transmitantenna to a receiver. In the example shown in FIG. 14, a first packet,denoted Packet 1, may be transmitted on a first MIMO layer 1402 a to ascheduled entity (UE), while a second packet, denoted Packet 2, may betransmitted on a second MIMO layer 1402 b to the same UE. In addition,each packet may be allocated the same time-frequency resources withinthe system or device bandwidth. In the example shown in FIG. 14, eachpacket may be allocated the same RB 308 c.

FIG. 15 illustrates another example of scheduling multiple packets fortransmission in a slot utilizing different MIMO layers according to someaspects of the disclosure. In some examples, a high rate packet may besplit into multiple lower-rate streams, each transmitted from adifferent antenna (on a different MIMO layer). In the example shown inFIG. 15, the first packet (Packet 1) may be split into two streams andtransmitted on the same time-frequency resources (e.g., RB 308 c) on aset of two MIMO layers 1402 a and 1402 b. In addition, the second packet(Packet 2) may be transmitted on a third MIMO layer 1402 c on the sameor different time-frequency resources. In the example shown in FIG. 15,the second packet is transmitted on a different RB (RB 308 b) than thefirst packet.

FIG. 16 illustrates an example of downlink control information includinga grant having modifiable grant properties according to some aspects ofthe present disclosure. The grant is illustrated as being transmittedwithin DCI 910 of a PDCCH 908. The DCI 910 may include, for example, aplurality of grant properties 1602 of the grant, along with a modifiableindication 1604 for each of the grant properties 1602. Each modifiableindication 1604 may include, for example, one or more bits that mayinform the scheduled entity that the property 1602 may be furthermodified (“Y”) in a concurrent or subsequent PDCCH (or DCI within thesame PDCCH), may not be modified (“N”) (e.g., is unmodifiable) in aconcurrent or subsequent PDCCH (or DCI within the same PDCCH), or willnot be further modified (“Final”) in a concurrent or subsequent PDCCH(or DCI within the same PDCCH). In some examples, a final PDCCH (or DCIwithin the same PDCCH) for a set of resource elements within a slot mayinclude the “Final” indicator when the PDCCH (or DCI within the samePDCCH) is a final PDCCH.

In some examples, to reduce the PDCCH overhead, a second DCI/PDCCH thatmodifies a first DCI/PDCCH may not include any unmodifiable information(e.g., any information that may not change from the first to the secondDCI/PDCCH). In other examples, the second DCI/PDCCH may set theunmodifiable information to the same as the first DCI/PDCCH. If theunmodifiable information is set to the same as the first DCI/PDCCH atthe PDCCH transmitter, and the PDCCH receiver at the scheduled entitydetermines that this information is not the same in the first and thesecond DCI/PDCCH, the scheduled entity may ignore both the first andsecond DCI/PDCCHs.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1700 forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals in accordance withsome aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 1700 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. In some examples, the process 1700 maybe carried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1702, the scheduling entity may schedule a grant for a packetfor a scheduled entity. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may schedule the grant for the packet. At block 1704, thescheduling entity may transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH)including first control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grantfor the packet to the scheduled entity. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may generate and transmit thefirst control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 1706, the scheduling entity may modify at least one property ofthe grant to produce grant modification information. For example, thescheduling entity may add a packet to the grant for transmission ondifferent time-frequency resources or a different set of one or moreMIMO layers, modify a RB allocation of the grant, modify the waveformutilized for the grant, or modify the transmit-diversity scheme utilizedfor the grant. For example, the resource assignment and schedulingcircuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above maymodify at least one property of the grant.

At block 1708, the scheduling entity may transmit a second controlchannel (e.g., PDCCH) including second control information (e.g., DCI)that includes at least the grant modification information to thescheduled entity. In some examples, the second control information (DCI)may be transmitted within the same PDCCH as the first controlinformation. In some examples, the first and second control channels maybe separately transmitted within the same slot or different slots. Insome examples, the second control information may also include theunmodified properties of the grant. For example, the resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channel generationand transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown and describedin reference to FIG. 7 above may transmit the second control channel tothe scheduled entity.

FIG. 18 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1800 forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals in accordance withsome aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 1800 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. In some examples, the process 1800 maybe carried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1802, the scheduling entity may schedule a grant for a firstpacket for a scheduled entity. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may schedule the grant for the first packet. At block 1804, thescheduling entity may transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH)including first control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grantfor the first packet to the scheduled entity. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may generate and transmit thefirst control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 1806, the scheduling entity may determine whether at least partof the first packet will be punctured. In some examples, the firstpacket may be punctured to support transmission of a second packetcontaining low latency traffic for the same scheduled entity or anotherscheduled entity (e.g., to accommodate a URLLC packet for the same or adifferent scheduled entity). In other examples, the second packet maycontain other types of DL or UL control and/or user data traffic. Forexample, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may determine whether the packetwill be punctured.

If at least part of the first packet will be punctured (Y branch ofblock 1806), at block 1808, the scheduling entity may modify the grantto produce grant modification information indicating at least thepunctured resources of the grant. In some examples, the grantmodification information may include punctured resource informationindicating the resource elements (REs) allocated to the grant that needto be punctured to support transmission of the second packet. In someexamples, the grant modification information may further includeprocessing to be applied to the first packet as a result of thepuncturing. For example, any special processing may be included in grantmodification information transmitted after transmission of the firstpacket. For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above may modify thegrant.

At block 1810, the scheduling entity may determine whether the firstpacket has already been transmitted. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in referenceto FIG. 7 above may determine whether the first packet has beentransmitted. If the packet has been transmitted (Y branch of block1810), at block 1812, the scheduling entity may transmit a secondcontrol channel (e.g., PDCCH) including second control information(e.g., DCI) that includes at least the grant modification information tothe scheduled entity in a slot that occurs later in time that the slotcontaining the first packet. If the first packet has not already beentransmitted (N branch of block 1810), at block 1814, the schedulingentity may transmit a second control channel (e.g., PDCCH) includingsecond control information (e.g., DCI) that includes at least the grantmodification information to the scheduled entity in a slot that is priorto or the same as the slot containing the first packet. For example, theresource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and controlchannel generation and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710shown and described above in reference to FIG. 7 may transmit the secondcontrol channel to the scheduled entity.

FIG. 19 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 1900 forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals in accordance withsome aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 1900 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. In some examples, the process 1900 maybe carried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 1902, the scheduling entity may schedule a grant for a firstpacket for a scheduled entity. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may schedule the grant for the packet. At block 1904, thescheduling entity may transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH)including first control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grantfor the first packet to the scheduled entity. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may generate and transmit thefirst control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 1906, the scheduling entity may determine whether to add asecond packet to the grant. In some examples, the scheduling entity maydetermine that the channel between the scheduling entity and thescheduled entity can support one or more additional MIMO layers (e.g.,based on an updated CQI or SRS received from the scheduled entity) ormay determine that an additional urgent packet (e.g., an Ultra ReliableLow Latency Communication (URLLC) packet) may need to be transmitted tothe scheduled entity, and therefore, may determine that the secondpacket should be added to the grant. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in referenceto FIG. 7 above may determine whether to add a second packet to thegrant.

If the scheduling entity determines that a second packet should be addedto the grant (Y branch of block 1906), at block 1908, the schedulingentity may modify the grant to produce grant modification informationindicating at least resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) allocatedto the second packet. For example, the first packet may be scheduled ona first set of resource elements and the second packet may be scheduledon a second set of resource elements. In some examples, the first andsecond sets of resource elements are the same or at least partiallyoverlap (e.g., the packets are scheduled on the same set or overlappingsets of resource elements). In other examples, the first and second setsof resource elements are different. In examples in which the packets arescheduled on the same (or overlapping) sets of resource elements, eachpacket may be scheduled on a different set of one or more MIMO layers.For example, the first packet may be scheduled on a first set of one ormore MIMO layers and the second packet may be scheduled on a second setof one or more MIMO layers, where each set of MIMO layers is different(non-overlapping). For example, the resource assignment and schedulingcircuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above maymodify the grant.

At block 1910, the scheduling entity may transmit a second controlchannel (e.g., PDCCH) including second control information (e.g., DCI)that includes at least the grant modification information to thescheduled entity. In some examples, the second control information (DCI)may be transmitted within the same PDCCH as the first controlinformation. In some examples, the first and second control channels maybe separately transmitted within the same slot or different slots. Insome examples, the second control information may also include theunmodified properties of the grant. For example, the resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channel generationand transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown and describedin reference to FIG. 7 above may transmit the second control channel tothe scheduled entity.

FIG. 20 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 2000 forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals in accordance withsome aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 2000 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. In some examples, the process 2000 maybe carried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 2002, the scheduling entity may schedule a grant for a firstpacket for a scheduled entity. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may schedule the grant for the packet. At block 2004, thescheduling entity may transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH)including first control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grantfor the first packet to the scheduled entity. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may generate and transmit thefirst control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 2006, the scheduling entity may determine whether to add asecond packet to the grant. In some examples, the scheduling entity maydetermine that the channel between the scheduling entity and thescheduled entity can support one or more additional MIMO layers (e.g.,based on an updated CQI or SRS received from the scheduled entity) ormay determine that an additional urgent packet (e.g., an Ultra ReliableLow Latency Communication (URLLC) packet) may need to be transmitted tothe scheduled entity, and therefore, may determine that the secondpacket should be added to the grant. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in referenceto FIG. 7 above may determine whether to add a second packet to thegrant.

If the scheduling entity determines that a second packet should be addedto the grant (Y branch of block 2006), at block 2008, the schedulingentity may determine whether to transmit the second packet on the sameresources (e.g., time-frequency resources) as the first packet. Forexample, the scheduling entity may determine whether the channel betweenthe scheduling entity and scheduled entity can support one or moreadditional MIMO layers on the same (or overlapping) sets of resourceelements to transmit the second packet. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in referenceto FIG. 7 above may determine whether to utilize the same resources forthe first and second packets.

If the scheduling entity determines that different resources should beutilized for the first and second packets (N branch of block 2008), atblock 2010, the scheduling entity may modify the grant to produce grantmodification information indicating at least the different resources(e.g., time-frequency resources) allocated to the second packet. Forexample, the first packet may be scheduled on a first set of resourceelements and the second packet may be scheduled on a second set ofresource elements that is different than the first set of resourceelements. For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above may modify thegrant.

If the scheduling entity determines that the same (or overlapping)resources are to be utilized for the first and second packets, whereeach packet is transmitted on a different set of one or more MIMO layers(Y branch of block 2008), at block 2012, the scheduling entity maydetermine whether the second packet should be assigned the same HARQprocess ID as the first packet. In some examples, different HARQ processIDs may be used for each of the packets when the initial grant and thegrant modification information are transmitted within different PDCCH.For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shownand described in reference to FIG. 7 above may determine whether thesame HARQ process ID should be utilized for both packets.

If the scheduling entity determines that the same HARQ process ID shouldbe assigned to each packet (Y branch of block 2012), at block 2014, thescheduling entity may modify the grant to produce grant modificationinformation indicating at least that the second packet is allocated thesame resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) as the first packet on adifferent set of one or more MIMO layers and that the second packet isassigned the same HARQ process ID. For example, the resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may modify the grant.

If the scheduling entity determines that different HARQ process IDsshould be assigned to each packet (N branch of block 2012), at block2016, the scheduling entity may modify the grant to produce grantmodification information indicating at least that the second packet isallocated the same resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) as thefirst packet on a different set of one or more MIMO layers and that thesecond packet is assigned a different HARQ process ID. For example, theresource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described inreference to FIG. 7 above may modify the grant.

At block 2018, the scheduling entity may transmit a second controlchannel (e.g., PDCCH) including second control information (e.g., DCI)that includes at least the grant modification information to thescheduled entity. In some examples, the second control information (DCI)may be transmitted within the same PDCCH as the first controlinformation. In some examples, the first and second control channels maybe separately transmitted within the same slot or different slots. Insome examples, the second control information may also include theunmodified properties of the grant. For example, the resource assignmentand scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channel generationand transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown and describedin reference to FIG. 7 above may transmit the second control channel tothe scheduled entity.

FIG. 21 is a flow chart illustrating an exemplary process 2100 forscheduling a grant utilizing multiple control signals in accordance withsome aspects of the present disclosure. As described below, some or allillustrated features may be omitted in a particular implementationwithin the scope of the present disclosure, and some illustratedfeatures may not be required for implementation of all embodiments. Insome examples, the process 2100 may be carried out by the schedulingentity 700 illustrated in FIG. 7. In some examples, the process 2100 maybe carried out by any suitable apparatus or means for carrying out thefunctions or algorithm described below.

At block 2102, the scheduling entity may schedule a grant for a firstpacket for a scheduled entity. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7above may schedule the grant for the packet. At block 2104, thescheduling entity may transmit a first control channel (e.g., a PDCCH)including first control information (e.g., DCI) that includes the grantfor the first packet to the scheduled entity. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DL traffic and control channelgeneration and transmission circuitry 742 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may generate and transmit thefirst control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 2106, the scheduling entity may determine whether to add asecond packet to the grant. In some examples, the scheduling entity maydetermine that the channel between the scheduling entity and thescheduled entity can support one or more additional MIMO layers (e.g.,based on an updated CQI or SRS received from the scheduled entity) ormay determine that an additional urgent packet (e.g., an Ultra ReliableLow Latency Communication (URLLC) packet) may need to be transmitted tothe scheduled entity, and therefore, may determine that the secondpacket should be added to the grant. For example, the resourceassignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown and described in referenceto FIG. 7 above may determine whether to add a second packet to thegrant.

If the scheduling entity determines that a second packet should be addedto the grant (Y branch of block 2106), at block 2108, the schedulingentity may modify the grant to produce grant modification informationindicating at least resources (e.g., time-frequency resources) allocatedto the second packet. For example, the first packet may be scheduled ona first set of resource elements and the second packet may be scheduledon a second set of resource elements. In some examples, the first andsecond sets of resource elements are the same or at least partiallyoverlap (e.g., the packets are scheduled on the same set or overlappingsets of resource elements). In other examples, the first and second setsof resource elements are different. In examples in which the packets arescheduled on the same (or overlapping) sets of resource elements, eachpacket may be scheduled on a different set of one or more MIMO layers.For example, the first packet may be scheduled on a first set of one ormore MIMO layers and the second packet may be scheduled on a second setof one or more MIMO layers, where each set of MIMO layers is different(non-overlapping). For example, the resource assignment and schedulingcircuitry 741 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above maymodify the grant.

At block 2110, the scheduling entity may further schedule resources fora bundled acknowledgement for the first and second grants to produce abundled acknowledgement grant. For example, the resource assignment andscheduling circuitry 741 may schedule the bundled acknowledgement grant.

At block 2110, the scheduling entity may transmit a second controlchannel (e.g., PDCCH) including second control information (e.g., DCI)that includes at least the grant modification information and thebundled acknowledgement grant to the scheduled entity. In some examples,the second control information (DCI) may be transmitted within the samePDCCH as the first control information. In some examples, the first andsecond control channels may be separately transmitted within the sameslot or different slots. In some examples, the second controlinformation may also include the unmodified properties of the grant. Insome examples, the bundled acknowledgement grant may further indicatethe number of packets associated with the bundled acknowledgement grant.For example, the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741, DLtraffic and control channel generation and transmission circuitry 742and transceiver 710 shown and described in reference to FIG. 7 above maytransmit the second control channel to the scheduled entity.

At block 2114, the scheduling entity may determine whether the bundledacknowledgement grant indicated the number of packets associated withthe bundled acknowledgement. If the number of packets was included inthe bundled acknowledgement grant (Y branch of block 2114), aftertransmission of the first and second packets, at block 2116, thescheduling entity may receive a bundled acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) fromthe scheduled entity that collectively acknowledges both of the firstand second packets. For example, the UL traffic and control channelreception and processing circuitry 743 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may receive the bundledacknowledgement from the scheduled entity.

If the number of packets was not included in the bundled acknowledgementgrant (N branch of block 2114), after transmission of the first andsecond packets, at block 2118, the scheduling entity may receive abundled acknowledgement (ACK/NACK) from the scheduled entity thatfurther includes an indication of the number of packets received at thescheduled entity. For example, the UL traffic and control channelreception and processing circuitry 743 and transceiver 710 shown anddescribed in reference to FIG. 7 above may receive the bundledacknowledgement from the scheduled entity.

In one configuration, a scheduling entity in a wireless communicationnetwork includes means for scheduling a grant including a downlinkassignment or an uplink grant for a first packet for a first scheduledentity of a set of one or more scheduled entities in wirelesscommunication with the scheduling entity and means for transmitting afirst control channel including first control information to the firstscheduled entity, where the first control information includes the grantfor the first packet. The method further includes means for modifying atleast one property of a plurality of properties of the grant to producegrant modification information and means for transmitting a secondcontrol channel including second control information to the firstscheduled entity, where the second control information includes at leastthe grant modification information.

In one aspect, the aforementioned means for scheduling the grant andmeans for modifying at least one property of the grant may be theprocessor(s) 704 shown in FIG. 7 configured to perform the functionsrecited by the aforementioned means. For example, the aforementionedmeans for scheduling the grant and means for modifying the grant mayinclude the resource assignment and scheduling circuitry 741 shown inFIG. 7. In another aspect, the aforementioned means for transmitting thefirst control channel and means for transmitting the second controlchannel may be the processor(s) 704 shown in FIG. 7 configured toperform the functions recited by the aforementioned means. For example,the aforementioned means for transmitting the first control channel andthe means for transmitting the second control channel may include the DLtraffic and control channel generation and transmission circuitry 742shown in FIG. 7, together with the transceiver 710 shown in FIG. 7. Instill another aspect, the aforementioned means may be a circuit or anyapparatus configured to perform the functions recited by theaforementioned means.

Several aspects of a wireless communication network have been presentedwith reference to an exemplary implementation. As those skilled in theart will readily appreciate, various aspects described throughout thisdisclosure may be extended to other telecommunication systems, networkarchitectures and communication standards. By way of example, variousaspects may be implemented within other systems defined by 3GPP, such asLong-Term Evolution (LTE), the Evolved Packet System (EPS), theUniversal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), and/or the GlobalSystem for Mobile (GSM). Various aspects may also be extended to systemsdefined by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project 2 (3GPP2), such asCDMA2000 and/or Evolution-Data Optimized (EV-DO). Other examples may beimplemented within systems employing IEEE 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE 802.16(WiMAX), IEEE 802.20, Ultra-Wideband (UWB), Bluetooth, and/or othersuitable systems. The actual telecommunication standard, networkarchitecture, and/or communication standard employed will depend on thespecific application and the overall design constraints imposed on thesystem.

Within the present disclosure, the word “exemplary” is used to mean“serving as an example, instance, or illustration.” Any implementationor aspect described herein as “exemplary” is not necessarily to beconstrued as preferred or advantageous over other aspects of thedisclosure. Likewise, the term “aspects” does not require that allaspects of the disclosure include the discussed feature, advantage ormode of operation. The term “coupled” is used herein to refer to thedirect or indirect coupling between two objects. For example, if objectA physically touches object B, and object B touches object C, thenobjects A and C may still be considered coupled to one another—even ifthey do not directly physically touch each other. For instance, a firstobject may be coupled to a second object even though the first object isnever directly physically in contact with the second object. The terms“circuit” and “circuitry” are used broadly, and intended to include bothhardware implementations of electrical devices and conductors that, whenconnected and configured, enable the performance of the functionsdescribed in the present disclosure, without limitation as to the typeof electronic circuits, as well as software implementations ofinformation and instructions that, when executed by a processor, enablethe performance of the functions described in the present disclosure.

One or more of the components, steps, features and/or functionsillustrated in FIGS. 1-21 may be rearranged and/or combined into asingle component, step, feature or function or embodied in severalcomponents, steps, or functions. Additional elements, components, steps,and/or functions may also be added without departing from novel featuresdisclosed herein. The apparatus, devices, and/or components illustratedin FIGS. 1, 2, 6, 7 and/or 8 may be configured to perform one or more ofthe methods, features, or steps described herein. The novel algorithmsdescribed herein may also be efficiently implemented in software and/orembedded in hardware.

It is to be understood that the specific order or hierarchy of steps inthe methods disclosed is an illustration of exemplary processes. Basedupon design preferences, it is understood that the specific order orhierarchy of steps in the methods may be rearranged. The accompanyingmethod claims present elements of the various steps in a sample order,and are not meant to be limited to the specific order or hierarchypresented unless specifically recited therein.

The previous description is provided to enable any person skilled in theart to practice the various aspects described herein. Variousmodifications to these aspects will be readily apparent to those skilledin the art, and the generic principles defined herein may be applied toother aspects. Thus, the claims are not intended to be limited to theaspects shown herein, but are to be accorded the full scope consistentwith the language of the claims, wherein reference to an element in thesingular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless specificallyso stated, but rather “one or more.” Unless specifically statedotherwise, the term “some” refers to one or more. A phrase referring to“at least one of” a list of items refers to any combination of thoseitems, including single members. As an example, “at least one of: a, b,or c” is intended to cover: a; b; c; a and b; a and c; b and c; and a, band c. All structural and functional equivalents to the elements of thevarious aspects described throughout this disclosure that are known orlater come to be known to those of ordinary skill in the art areexpressly incorporated herein by reference and are intended to beencompassed by the claims. Moreover, nothing disclosed herein isintended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether suchdisclosure is explicitly recited in the claims. No claim element is tobe construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. § 112(f) unless theelement is expressly recited using the phrase “means for” or, in thecase of a method claim, the element is recited using the phrase “stepfor.”

What is claimed is:
 1. A method for a scheduled entity to communicatewith a scheduling entity in a wireless communication network, the methodcomprising: receiving a first control channel comprising first controlinformation from the scheduling entity, wherein the first controlinformation comprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet; and receiving a second control channelcomprising second control information from the scheduling entity,wherein the second control information comprises at least grantmodification information and is separate from the first controlinformation, wherein the grant modification information modifies atleast one property of a plurality of properties of the grant; whereinthe grant modification information adds a second packet to the grant,wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of resourceelements within a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a secondset of resource elements within the slot.
 2. The method of claim 1,wherein the grant modification information comprises an indication thatat least part of the first packet will be punctured.
 3. The method ofclaim 2, wherein the second packet comprises ultra-reliable low latencycommunication (URLLC) traffic for transmission and the grantmodification information comprises punctured resource informationidentifying at least a portion of resource elements (REs) allocated tothe first packet that are needed to support transmission of the secondpacket.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packet is scheduledon a first set of one or more multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO)layers and the second packet is scheduled on a second set of one or moreMIMO layers.
 5. The method of claim 4, wherein the first set of resourceelements comprises at least part of the second set of resource elements.6. The method of claim 5, wherein the first packet comprises a firsthybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (ID) assignedthereto and the second packet comprises a second HARQ process IDassigned thereto.
 7. The method of claim 6, wherein the first HARQprocess ID and the second HARQ process ID are the same.
 8. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising: receiving a block acknowledgement grantfrom the scheduling entity within the first control channel, wherein theblock acknowledgement grant comprises resources scheduled for a blockacknowledgement comprising a respective acknowledgement bit for each ofthe first packet and the second packet.
 9. The method of claim 1,further comprising: receiving a bundled acknowledgement grant from thescheduling entity within at least one of the first control channel andthe second control channel, wherein the bundled acknowledgement grantcomprises resources scheduled for a bundled acknowledgement comprising asingle acknowledgement bit for both the first packet and the secondpacket.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the bundled acknowledgementgrant further comprises an indication of a number of packets associatedwith the bundled acknowledgement grant.
 11. The method of claim 9,further comprising: receiving the first packet and the second packetfrom the scheduling entity; transmitting bundled acknowledgementinformation utilizing the bundled acknowledgement grant to thescheduling entity; and transmitting an indication of a number of packetsassociated with the bundled acknowledgement information to thescheduling entity.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packetcomprises a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the secondpacket comprises a second MCS, wherein the second MCS is different thanthe first MCS.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the first packetcomprises a first retransmission sequence number and the second packetcomprises a second retransmission sequence number, wherein the firstretransmission sequence number is different than the secondretransmission sequence number.
 14. The method of claim 1, wherein thegrant modification information further comprises a modification of atleast one of a time-frequency resource allocation of the grant, awaveform utilized for the grant, or a transmit-diversity scheme utilizedfor the grant.
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the first controlinformation further comprises a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant.
 16. A methodfor a scheduled entity to communicate with a scheduling entity in awireless communication network, the method comprising: receiving a firstcontrol channel comprising first control information from the schedulingentity, wherein the first control information comprises a grantcomprising a downlink assignment or an uplink grant for a first packet;and receiving a second control channel comprising second controlinformation from the scheduling entity, wherein the second controlinformation comprises at least grant modification information and isseparate from the first control information, wherein the grantmodification information modifies at least one property of a pluralityof properties of the grant; wherein the first control informationfurther comprises a respective modification indication for each propertyof the plurality of properties of the grant, wherein the respectivemodification indication of each of the plurality of properties indicateswhether the respective property is further modifiable.
 17. The method ofclaim 16, wherein the respective modification indication of each of theplurality of properties is set to final when the respective property isno longer modifiable.
 18. A scheduled entity in a wireless communicationnetwork, comprising: a transceiver for wireless communication with a setof one or more scheduled entities; a memory; and a processorcommunicatively coupled to the transceiver and the memory, the processorand the memory configured to: receive a first control channel comprisingfirst control information from a scheduling entity via the transceiver,wherein the first control information comprises a grant comprising adownlink assignment or an uplink grant for a first packet; and receive asecond control channel comprising second control information from thescheduling entity via the transceiver, wherein the second controlinformation comprises at least grant modification information and isseparate from the first control information, wherein the grantmodification information modifies at least one property of a pluralityof properties of the grant; wherein the grant modification informationadds a second packet to the grant, wherein the first packet is scheduledon a first set of resource elements within a slot and the second packetis scheduled on a second set of resource elements within the slot. 19.The scheduled entity of claim 18, wherein the grant modificationinformation comprises an indication that at least part of the firstpacket will be punctured.
 20. The scheduled entity of claim 19, whereinthe second packet comprises ultra-reliable low latency communication(URLLC) traffic for transmission and the grant modification informationcomprises punctured resource information identifying at least a portionof resource elements (REs) allocated to the first packet that are neededto support transmission of the second packet.
 21. The scheduled entityof claim 18, wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of oneor more multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers and the secondpacket is scheduled on a second set of one or more MIMO layers.
 22. Thescheduled entity of claim 21, wherein the first set of resource elementscomprises at least part of the second set of resource elements.
 23. Thescheduled entity of claim 22, wherein the first packet comprises a firsthybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (ID) assignedthereto and the second packet comprises a second HARQ process IDassigned thereto.
 24. The scheduled entity of claim 23, wherein thefirst HARQ process ID and the second HARQ process ID are the same. 25.The scheduled entity of claim 18, wherein the processor and the memoryare further configured to: receive a block acknowledgement grant fromthe scheduling entity within the first control channel, wherein theblock acknowledgement grant comprises resources scheduled for a blockacknowledgement comprising a respective acknowledgement bit for each ofthe first packet and the second packet.
 26. The scheduled entity ofclaim 18, wherein the processor and the memory are further configuredto: receive a bundled acknowledgement grant from the scheduling entitywithin at least one of the first control channel and the second controlchannel, wherein the bundled acknowledgement grant comprises resourcesscheduled for a bundled acknowledgement comprising a singleacknowledgement bit for both the first packet and the second packet. 27.The scheduled entity of claim 26, wherein the bundled acknowledgementgrant further comprises an indication of a number of packets associatedwith the bundled acknowledgement grant.
 28. The scheduled entity ofclaim 26, wherein the processor and the memory are further configuredto: receive the first packet and the second packet from the schedulingentity; transmit bundled acknowledgement information utilizing thebundled acknowledgement grant to the scheduling entity; and transmit anindication of a number of packets associated with the bundledacknowledgement information to the scheduling entity.
 29. The scheduledentity of claim 18, wherein the first packet comprises a firstmodulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the second packet comprises asecond MCS, wherein the second MCS is different than the first MCS. 30.The scheduled entity of claim 18, wherein the first packet comprises afirst retransmission sequence number and the second packet comprises asecond retransmission sequence number, wherein the first retransmissionsequence number is different than the second retransmission sequencenumber.
 31. The scheduled entity of claim 18, wherein the grantmodification information further comprises a modification of at leastone of a time-frequency resource allocation of the grant, a waveformutilized for the grant, or a transmit-diversity scheme utilized for thegrant.
 32. The scheduled entity of claim 18, wherein the first controlinformation further comprises a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant.
 33. Ascheduled entity in a wireless communication network, comprising: atransceiver for wireless communication with a set of one or morescheduled entities; a memory; and a processor communicatively coupled tothe transceiver and the memory, the processor and the memory configuredto: receive a first control channel comprising first control informationfrom a scheduling entity, wherein the first control informationcomprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or an uplink grantfor a first packet; and receive a second control channel comprisingsecond control information from the scheduling entity, wherein thesecond control information comprises at least grant modificationinformation and is separate from the first control information, whereinthe grant modification information modifies at least one property of aplurality of properties of the grant; wherein the first controlinformation further comprises a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant, wherein therespective modification indication of each of the plurality ofproperties indicates whether the respective property is furthermodifiable.
 34. The scheduled entity of claim 33, wherein the respectivemodification indication of each of the plurality of properties is set tofinal when the respective property is no longer modifiable.
 35. Ascheduled entity in a wireless communication network, comprising: meansfor receiving a first control channel comprising first controlinformation from a scheduling entity, wherein the first controlinformation comprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet; and means for receiving a secondcontrol channel comprising second control information from thescheduling entity, wherein the second control information comprises atleast grant modification information and is separate from the firstcontrol information, wherein the grant modification information modifiesat least one property of a plurality of properties of the grant; whereinthe grant modification information adds a second packet to the grant,wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of resourceelements within a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a secondset of resource elements within the slot.
 36. The scheduled entity ofclaim 35, wherein the grant modification information comprises anindication that at least part of the first packet will be punctured. 37.The scheduled entity of claim 36, wherein the second packet comprisesultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) traffic fortransmission and the grant modification information comprises puncturedresource information identifying at least a portion of resource elements(REs) allocated to the first packet that are needed to supporttransmission of the second packet.
 38. The scheduled entity of claim 35,wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of one or moremultiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers and the second packet isscheduled on a second set of one or more MIMO layers.
 39. The scheduledentity of claim 38, wherein the first set of resource elements comprisesat least part of the second set of resource elements.
 40. The scheduledentity of claim 39, wherein the first packet comprises a first hybridautomatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (ID) assigned theretoand the second packet comprises a second HARQ process ID assignedthereto.
 41. The scheduled entity of claim 40, wherein the first HARQprocess ID and the second HARQ process ID are the same.
 42. Thescheduled entity of claim 35, further comprising: means for receiving ablock acknowledgement grant from the scheduling entity within the firstcontrol channel, wherein the block acknowledgement grant comprisesresources scheduled for a block acknowledgement comprising a respectiveacknowledgement bit for each of the first packet and the second packet.43. The scheduled entity of claim 35, further comprising: means forreceiving a bundled acknowledgement grant from the scheduling entitywithin at least one of the first control channel and the second controlchannel, wherein the bundled acknowledgement grant comprises resourcesscheduled for a bundled acknowledgement comprising a singleacknowledgement bit for both the first packet and the second packet. 44.The scheduled entity of claim 43, wherein the bundled acknowledgementgrant further comprises an indication of a number of packets associatedwith the bundled acknowledgement grant.
 45. The scheduled entity ofclaim 43, further comprising: means for receiving the first packet andthe second packet from the scheduling entity; means for transmittingbundled acknowledgement information utilizing the bundledacknowledgement grant to the scheduling entity; and means fortransmitting an indication of a number of packets associated with thebundled acknowledgement information to the scheduling entity.
 46. Thescheduled entity of claim 35, wherein the first packet comprises a firstmodulation and coding scheme (MCS) and the second packet comprises asecond MCS, wherein the second MCS is different than the first MCS. 47.The scheduled entity of claim 35, wherein the first packet comprises afirst retransmission sequence number and the second packet comprises asecond retransmission sequence number, wherein the first retransmissionsequence number is different than the second retransmission sequencenumber.
 48. The scheduled entity of claim 35, wherein the grantmodification information further comprises a modification of at leastone of a time-frequency resource allocation of the grant, a waveformutilized for the grant, or a transmit-diversity scheme utilized for thegrant.
 49. The scheduled entity of claim 35, wherein the first controlinformation further comprises a respective modification indication foreach property of the plurality of properties of the grant.
 50. Ascheduled entity in a wireless communication network, comprising: meansfor receiving a first control channel comprising first controlinformation from a scheduling entity, wherein the first controlinformation comprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet; and means for receiving a secondcontrol channel comprising second control information from thescheduling entity, wherein the second control information comprises atleast grant modification information and is separate from the firstcontrol information, wherein the grant modification information modifiesat least one property of a plurality of properties of the grant; whereinthe first control information further comprises a respectivemodification indication for each property of the plurality of propertiesof the grant, wherein the respective modification indication of each ofthe plurality of properties indicates whether the respective property isfurther modifiable.
 51. The scheduled entity of claim 50, wherein therespective modification indication of each of the plurality ofproperties is set to final when the respective property is no longermodifiable.
 52. An article of manufacture for use by a scheduled entityin a wireless communication network, the article comprising: anon-transitory computer-readable medium having stored thereininstructions executable by one or more processors of the scheduledentity to: receive a first control channel comprising first controlinformation from a scheduling entity, wherein the first controlinformation comprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet; and receive a second control channelcomprising second control information from the scheduling entity,wherein the second control information comprises at least grantmodification information and is separate from the first controlinformation, wherein the grant modification information modifies atleast one property of a plurality of properties of the grant; whereinthe grant modification information adds a second packet to the grant,wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of resourceelements within a slot and the second packet is scheduled on a secondset of resource elements within the slot.
 53. The article of manufactureof claim 52, wherein the grant modification information comprises anindication that at least part of the first packet will be punctured. 54.The article of manufacture of claim 53, wherein the second packetcomprises ultra-reliable low latency communication (URLLC) traffic fortransmission and the grant modification information comprises puncturedresource information identifying at least a portion of resource elements(REs) allocated to the first packet that are needed to supporttransmission of the second packet.
 55. The article of manufacture ofclaim 52, wherein the first packet is scheduled on a first set of one ormore multiple-input-multiple-output (MIMO) layers and the second packetis scheduled on a second set of one or more MIMO layers.
 56. The articleof manufacture of claim 55, wherein the first set of resource elementscomprises at least part of the second set of resource elements.
 57. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 56, wherein the first packet comprises afirst hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) process identifier (ID)assigned thereto and the second packet comprises a second HARQ processID assigned thereto.
 58. The article of manufacture of claim 57, whereinthe first HARQ process ID and the second HARQ process ID are the same.59. The article of manufacture of claim 52, wherein thecomputer-readable medium further has stored therein instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors of the scheduled entity to:receive a block acknowledgement grant from the scheduling entity withinthe first control channel, wherein the block acknowledgement grantcomprises resources scheduled for a block acknowledgement comprising arespective acknowledgement bit for each of the first packet and thesecond packet.
 60. The article of manufacture of claim 52, wherein thecomputer-readable medium further has stored therein instructionsexecutable by the one or more processors of the scheduled entity to:receive a bundled acknowledgement grant from the scheduling entitywithin at least one of the first control channel and the second controlchannel, wherein the bundled acknowledgement grant comprises resourcesscheduled for a bundled acknowledgement comprising a singleacknowledgement bit for both the first packet and the second packet. 61.The article of manufacture of claim 60, wherein the bundledacknowledgement grant further comprises an indication of a number ofpackets associated with the bundled acknowledgement grant.
 62. Thearticle of manufacture of claim 60, wherein the computer-readable mediumfurther has stored therein instructions executable by the one or moreprocessors of the scheduled entity to: receive the first packet and thesecond packet from the scheduling entity; transmit bundledacknowledgement information utilizing the bundled acknowledgement grantto the scheduling entity; and transmit an indication of a number ofpackets associated with the bundled acknowledgement information to thescheduling entity.
 63. The article of manufacture of claim 52, whereinthe first packet comprises a first modulation and coding scheme (MCS)and the second packet comprises a second MCS, wherein the second MCS isdifferent than the first MCS.
 64. The article of manufacture of claim52, wherein the first packet comprises a first retransmission sequencenumber and the second packet comprises a second retransmission sequencenumber, wherein the first retransmission sequence number is differentthan the second retransmission sequence number.
 65. The article ofmanufacture of claim 52, wherein the grant modification informationfurther comprises a modification of at least one of a time-frequencyresource allocation of the grant, a waveform utilized for the grant, ora transmit-diversity scheme utilized for the grant.
 66. The article ofmanufacture of claim 52, wherein the first control information furthercomprises a respective modification indication for each property of theplurality of properties of the grant.
 67. An article of manufacture foruse by a scheduled entity in a wireless communication network, thearticle comprising: a non-transitory computer-readable medium havingstored therein instructions executable by one or more processors of thescheduled entity to: receive a first control channel comprising firstcontrol information from a scheduling entity, wherein the first controlinformation comprises a grant comprising a downlink assignment or anuplink grant for a first packet; and receive a second control channelcomprising second control information from the scheduling entity,wherein the second control information comprises at least grantmodification information and is separate from the first controlinformation, wherein the grant modification information modifies atleast one property of a plurality of properties of the grant; whereinthe first control information further comprises a respectivemodification indication for each property of the plurality of propertiesof the grant, wherein the respective modification indication of each ofthe plurality of properties indicates whether the respective property isfurther modifiable.
 68. The article of manufacture of claim 67, whereinthe respective modification indication of each of the plurality ofproperties is set to final when the respective property is no longermodifiable.